Israeli forces on Thursday killed the Palestinian terrorists who last month murdered three members of the Dee family in the Jordan Valley.
Lucy Dee, 48, and daughters Maia, 20, and Rina, 15, were killed in an April 7 shooting on the Route 57 highway near the Hamra Junction.
The terrorists, identified as Hamas members Hassan Katnani and Muad Masri, were shot dead in an exchange of fire after Israeli forces surrounded their hideout in Nablus’s Kasbah (Old City).
The troops fired a rocket at the building in order to flush the terrorists out into the open.
Ibrahim Hura, identified by the IDF as a collaborator with the Hamas terrorists, was also killed in the raid, the military said.
Two automatic rifles were found in the terrorists’ hideout.
“The security forces will continue to act with determination to thwart any terrorist threat directed against civilians and IDF soldiers,” said the military in a statement.
During the operation, a Border Police canine, Django, was shot and killed while shielding Israeli fighters from gunfire.
Django had participated in hundreds of counterterror arrest raids conducted by the Border Police’s Yamam National Counter Terror Unit.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “This morning, we settled accounts with the murderers of Lucy, Maya and Rina Dee, may their memories be blessed. Our message to those who harm us, and those who want to harm us, is that whether it takes a day, a week or a month, you can be certain that we will settle accounts with you. It does not matter where you try to hide, we will find you. Whoever attacks us will pay the price.
“I would like to thank the security agencies and our brave soldiers who worked night and day to settle accounts with the murderers,” Netanyahu said.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant commended the forces for neutralizing the terrorists, adding: “Just as I promised Leo Dee, Israel’s defense establishment will reach any terrorist that harms our citizens.”
Leo Dee, Lucy’s husband and father of Maia and Rina, recited the Yizkor memorial prayer at Israel’s main ceremony marking the state’s 75th Independence Day last week.
“The kids and I were comforted to hear that the Israeli security forces have eliminated the Iranian-funded terrorists responsible for Lucy, Maia, and Rina’s murders,” Leo said on Thursday,
“This has been done in a way that has not endangered the lives of Israeli soldiers, nor innocent Palestinian civilians—in a way that only the Israeli army knows how to do. Furthermore, we have asked for the opportunity to speak with the terrorists’ families and ask what good they thought would come out of their actions and to hear their vision for a better world,” he added.