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Story summary
- Captain Smit Machchhar of India received Israel’s Presidential Award for Civilian Heroism.
- President Isaac Herzog presented the medal on October 8, 2026 at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem.
- Machchhar was stabbed by Omani co-pilot Hamam al-Hammami while rescuing 172 passengers on September 30, 2026.
- Herzog praised Machchhar’s courage and announced his recovery in a UAE hospital.
- He called for international unity against terror, recalling the October 7, 2023 attack.