A terrorist exited his vehicle at the Giti Avisar Junction near Ariel in central Samaria shortly after noon on Friday and fired his weapon at a Tel Aviv-bound No. 286 bus.
Nine victims, including civilians and soldiers, were wounded by gunfire and shrapnel—three seriously, one moderately and the rest lightly. The terrorist was killed. It was initially thought there was a second terrorist who fled, but that proved not to be the case.
United Hatzalah EMTs Hanan Afik and Tidhar Hozeh said: “We provided initial medical treatment to eight people who were wounded. Three are in serious condition, one in moderate condition, and four were lightly injured. Additionally, we provided aid to people suffering from trauma resulting from the attack.”
According to a Palestinian report, the terrorist was Samer Atal, 47, a father of five from Einabus, south of Nablus.
Earlier this month, Palestinian Hamas terrorists opened fire toward the Shahak Industrial Park near the community of Shaked in northern Samaria.
No casualties were reported in the attack on the industrial zone, which is located some five miles west of Jenin, a hotbed of Palestinian terrorism.
In the first six months of 2024, Judea and Samaria saw more than 500 Arab terrorist attacks each month on average, according to data made public by Hatzalah Judea and Samaria (Rescuers Without Borders).
During that period, first responders recorded 3,272 acts of terrorism in the region, including 1,868 cases of rock-throwing, 456 attacks with Molotov cocktails, 299 explosive charges and 109 shootings.
