An Israel Defense Forces soldier seriously hurt in a vehicular assault in central Israel earlier this month has succumbed to his wounds, the military announced on Thursday morning.
Cpt. Ariel Topaz, 24, from Pardes Hanna, was one of four soldiers hurt in the terror attack at the Nir Tzvi Junction near the city of Lod on July 14.
Topaz was an officer in the Military Intelligence Directorate’s Research Department.
The terrorist, identified as 26-year-old Muhammad Shahab from the Kafr Aqab neighborhood of northeastern Jerusalem, was neutralized by Border Police officers.
The commander of the Israel Police’s Central District, Supt. Avi Biton, told reporters that “the terrorist ran over several Israelis at a bus stop, continued a few hundred meters and carried out another ... attack.”
Hamas hailed the incident as a “heroic operation,” but stopped short of taking responsibility.
The death toll among IDF troops on all fronts since Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre now stands at 684.
There was a terrorist car ramming and shooting attack now in Nir Tzvi junction by Be'er Yaakov / Tsrifin (central Israel)
— Documenting Israel (@DocumentIsrael) July 14, 2024
2 people aged 20 have been seriously injured in the attack pic.twitter.com/YIml95Y4lh
