Israeli wounded in shop attack regains consciousness

Niv Nehemiah, 42, was stabbed in whilst working at the shop by a Palestinian teen who was handed into the security services

An Israeli man who was seriously wounded in a stabbing attack by a Palestinian assailant at a supermarket in central Israel regained consciousness, days after the attack.

Niv Nehemiah, 42, regained consciousness and was improving, Kaplan Hospital in Rehovot announced on Sunday. He reportedly was communicating with his family and breathing on his own, Israel’s Channel 2 reported. He remains in critical condition, however.

Nehemiah was attacked Wednesday at the Supersol supermarket in Yavneh where he works as an assistant manager.

He was restocking shelves when a Palestinian assailant, 19, entered the store and began stabbing him in the neck, chest and head. The stabber, who had entered Israel from the West Bank illegally, was wrestled to the ground by bystanders and later turned over to the Israel Security Agency for questioning.

Nehemiah had several surgeries over the weekend and remains in the Intensive Care Unit.