Mr Abed said he was relieved when the Israelis brought another red crescent paramedic, Asaad al-Nasra, Still alive, on the team of prisoners. In handcuffs and with eyes, Mr Al-Nasra whispered to him what he knew about their colleagues, Mr. Abed reminded.
Two looked at injuries, one of them seriously, Mr Al-Nasasra told him. And the latter had seen them, reminded Mr Al-Nasasra, two others recite Shahada.
An Israeli soldier sounded triumphant when Mr Abed asked about other ambulance workers, he recalled. “Your colleagues – all of them are gone!” He told him, in a joke, in the broken Arabic, the paramedics said.
“May God have mercy on their souls,” Mr. Abed recalled to answer.
Another soldier also told him in the broken Arabic that God had taken “these terrorists” in hell.
Eventually, the soldiers led Mr Al-Nasasra, the other paramedic, away. It is still missing, according to the red crescent.
This afternoon, Dr. Al-Bardawil and Mr Abed said they were asked to help the soldiers by saying to a large group of civilians who had gathered in the area to evacuate the area. After doing so, they were released, they said.
He was in a hurry, Mr. Abed left behind the jacket, identity card and bank card.
His parents had panicked since they heard of the attacks.
“Reassure me that you are okay, dear son,” his mother, Somaya Abed, 49, wrote him at 7:52 am That day, according to a message shown by a New York Times journalist.
There was no answer until Mr Abed was released around 4 pm, he called his father immediately.
“I’m finally out and safe,” said the youngest Mr. Abed.
But after hours of repeated beatings, he couldn’t walk, he said. A red crescent vehicle had to bring him home.
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