'I'm with you to the end': Eritrean risked life to save officer from Hamas, gets residence status

TEL AVIV: Eritrean national Mulugeta Tsagi received permanent residency status in Israel on Sunday as a "thank you" saving an Israeli soldier's life on October 7.

Tsagi administered life-saving first aid to an Israeli military officer shot by Hamas terrorists in Sderot, then stayed with the officer for several hours until he finally reached a hospital.

"The least that can be done to show gratitude is to allow him to live here with dignity," said Interior Minister Moshe Arbel, who arranged the permanent residency status for Tsagi.

The officer, a Lt.-Col. who can only be identified by the Hebrew letter, yud, was shot by several Hamas terrorists in a van. When Yud awoke, Tsagi was trying to stop the bleeding from the stomach.

"I'm with you to the end," Tsagi told Yud.

The two managed to hide in the canal for more than two hours until they were rescued by someone in a private vehicle.

"October 7 is a disaster that affected the entire country," said Arbel. "The least that can be done to show gratitude to those who risked their lives to save the life of an officer in the IDF is to give Mulugeta the opportunity to live here with dignity. Gratitude is the highest Jewish value."

Around 30,000 African asylum-seekers live in Israel, of whom an estimated 17,000 are from Eritrea.

Human rights groups describe Eritrea, a northeastern African country, as one of the most repressive in the world since breaking away from neighbouring Ethiopia three decades ago. It is ruled by President Isaias Afwerki. Many have fled from the country's mandatory military conscription.

More than 170 people were injured, including 49 police officers, when a demonstration by Eritrean asylum seekers against a Revolution Day celebration at the Eritrean Embassy in Tel Aviv turned violent in September.