Two Israeli soldiers were killed and eight others wounded early Tuesday in a shooting attack at an Israel Defense Forces, IDF, checkpoint near Tayasir in the northern West Bank, the military confirmed.
The Palestinian gunman, armed with an M-16 rifle, was killed after exchanging fire with troops for several minutes.
The assault occurred just before 6 am, when the gunman infiltrated the checkpoint undetected and ambushed soldiers as they prepared to open the post for Palestinian traffic.
Sgt. Maj. (res.) Ofer Yung, 39, of Tel Aviv, and Sgt. Maj. (res.) Avraham Tzvi Tzvika Friedman, 43, of Ein HaNatziv, were fatally shot during the exchange of fire. Both were members of the 8211th Reserve Battalion of the Ephraim Regional Brigade.
The attacker managed to enter the army post and engage soldiers in an intense firefight before being neutralised by a backup unit. Eight additional troops were wounded, including two in serious condition. The injured soldiers were evacuated to Israeli hospitals for treatment.
Visiting the site of the attack, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi vowed an intensified military crackdown in the area.
“This is a difficult attack in which we lost two reserve soldiers,” Halevi said. “We will investigate, implement lessons, and expand our counter-terrorism operations to additional areas.”
Shortly after the attack, Palestinian media reported an Israeli drone strike in the nearby town of Tamun, though the IDF did not immediately comment on the reports.
The attack comes amid a major Israeli counter-terrorism operation in the northern West Bank, where over 35 Palestinian gunmen have been killed and 100 suspected militants arrested in recent weeks.
The IDF’s Operation Iron Wall, launched on January 21, aims to dismantle terror networks operating in Jenin, Tulkarem, and Tamun.
Since Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, the West Bank has seen a sharp rise in violence.
Over 900 Palestinians have been killed, most of them identified by the IDF as gunmen or rioters. Meanwhile, 48 Israelis and security personnel have died in Palestinian attacks in Israel and the West Bank.
