Two IDF soldiers were killed and three other people were wounded in a terrorist shooting attack near the Yehuda Junction in the Hebron area of Judea on Friday morning.
The IDF identified the slain soldiers as Staff Sgt. Ron Yonatan Roytman, 23, of Ashkelon, a squad commander in the Home Front Command’s Ari Battalion, and Sgt. Yuval Shai Svilem, 20, of Hod Hasharon, a combat soldier in the same battalion.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered an immediate cordon on Hebron and instructed security forces to impose a full closure of Judea and Samaria following the attack.
Two Palestinian terrorists were killed after a gun battle with IDF troops that lasted more than 20 minutes, according to an initial military investigation.
The two terrorists, both 27-year-old Hebron residents, arrived by car at a temporary military checkpoint near an exit from Hebron at around 7:30 a.m.
According to the IDF’s preliminary assessment, the gunmen had intended to reach Route 35 and attack Israeli civilians but realized that they would be unable to get past the checkpoint.
The terrorists, armed with an M16 rifle and a handgun, got out of their vehicle and opened fire on the troops, using nearby buildings for cover.
Soldiers from the Home Front Command’s Ari Battalion, who were manning the checkpoint, returned fire. The battalion’s deputy commander and a company commander, along with an officer from the Paratroopers Brigade’s 101st Battalion who rushed to the scene, killed the two terrorists.
A large quantity of ammunition was subsequently found in the terrorists’ vehicle, which the military said indicated that they had planned a larger-scale attack.
The three wounded soldiers, also members of the Ari Battalion, were evacuated to hospitals in Jerusalem for treatment.
‘This was a serious terrorist attack
’IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said, “This was a serious terrorist attack. The soldiers’ rapid response prevented an even more serious attack and further harm to civilians and security forces.”
Hamas later claimed responsibility for the attack. The IDF and Israeli Security Agency (Shin Bet) said they were investigating whether the two terrorists acted independently or were part of a broader network.
IDF seals off Hebron
Following the attack, the IDF launched expanded counterterrorism operations in the Hebron area, imposing a full cordon on the city and surrounding villages.
Troops were operating at the homes of the two terrorists and at the residences of additional suspects as security forces stepped up arrest operations and intelligence efforts in the area.
The military said there had been no specific intelligence warning of the attack, although forces had already been placed on heightened alert ahead of Israel’s Oct. 27 election.
Zamir instructed the Central Command to prepare for additional troop reinforcements as needed.
“I commend our heroic soldiers who acted decisively and prevented a major attack, and I wish our wounded a speedy recovery,” Netanyahu said in a statement issued before the soldiers’ deaths were announced. “Our forces are operating with increased strength to thwart terrorism and are carrying out extensive waves of arrests.”
Netanyahu vowed that Israel would pursue Hamas terrorists and those who send them “everywhere and at all times,” adding, “You have nowhere to hide.”
The attack came as the IDF reinforced Judea and Samaria with an additional regular brigade as part of preparations for the election period.
Zamir held a multi-front situational assessment earlier this week with senior commanders on the military’s preparations for the election.
“The chief of the General Staff emphasized that the IDF’s mission is to enable the democratic elections to take place safely and as scheduled,” the military said following the assessment.
Zamir stressed that the IDF “remains on the highest state of alert and will maintain a high level of vigilance and readiness across all fronts.”
‘We must not wait for an Oct. 7 in Judea and Samaria’
Otzma Yehudit Party chairman and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said Friday’s attack was a warning that Israel needed to take stronger action in Judea and Samaria.
“The terrible attack happening right now is a bloody, harsh and painful reminder of the price of the conceptzia,” Ben-Gvir said, using the Hebrew term for the governing assumptions blamed for Israel’s failure to anticipate the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack.
“We must not wait for an Oct. 7 in Judea and Samaria. The next war will break out there. We have to act before it’s too late,” he said.
Ben-Gvir called for the Palestinian Authority to be “dismantled and demilitarized” and its terrorist infrastructure eliminated, adding, “The blood of our soldiers is not cheap.”
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, leader of the Religious Zionism Party, called for a large-scale military campaign in Judea and Samaria.
“There is no alternative to a comprehensive military campaign in Judea and Samaria, just as in Gaza and Lebanon,” said Smotrich, who also serves as an additional minister within the Defense Ministry with authority over civil affairs in Judea and Samaria.
He said the current government had brought about a “positive revolution” in Jewish settlement that was undermining the prospect of establishing a Palestinian state, but added that the task would not be completed “without changing the security concept and defeating terrorism and those who generate it through a broad military operation.”
