Two people were seriously wounded in a suspected terrorist shooting attack near the Reihan Crossing along the security fence in northern Samaria on Wednesday night, Israeli medical authorities said.
The IDF confirmed it had received a report about the shooting at the crossing, which is located near the Palestinian terrorist hub of Jenin.
“A terrorist fired at an IDF force that was carrying out an operational activity in the area. IDF forces began a pursuit of the terrorist,” it said.
According to Israel’s Channel 14 News, the shooting attack was carried out from a passing vehicle. IDF medics treated the victims on the spot and evacuated them by helicopter to a nearby hospital for treatment.
“Both are sedated and on ventilators, suffering from gunshot wounds to the upper body, and are expected to undergo surgery in the coming hours,” a spokesperson for Haifa’s Rambam Medical Center said.
On Thursday morning, the IDF, Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), and Israel Police announced that forces had apprehended the suspect involved in the shooting. Acting overnight on Shin Bet intelligence, IDF soldiers and police encircled the suspect’s residence in Barta’a, prompting him to surrender without resistance.
At the same time, the IDF said it received a report of a terrorist car-ramming in the Hebron Hills of the military’s Judea Brigade area.
The terrorist tried to ram his car into IDF soldiers stationed in the area. He subsequently exited his vehicle and attempted to stab the troops before being “neutralized,” it said. His condition was not immediately clear.
Hatzalah Judea and Samaria (Rescuers Without Borders) announced that one person was injured in the southern Judea terrorist ramming.
Hebron Hills Regional Council head Eliram Azulay said the attack occurred at the Hakvasim Intersection near the community of Beit Hagai.
“One injured person was evacuated from the scene,” said Azulay, calling on the government to implement his previous demand to construct a security perimeter around the villages and main roads in the area.
Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan urged Jerusalem to return to northern Samaria and re-establish Jewish communities in the area.
“I demand from the government of Israel to instruct the IDF to flatten the Jenin refugee camp,” Dagan stated. “The fate of Jenin, the terror capital in northern Samaria, should be the same as Khan Yunis and Rafah.”
“They are coming to expel us from our land,” he added. “We must crush the terrorist infrastructure with an iron fist, strengthen the settlement with determination and send a clear message: We’re here to win.”
Palestinian terrorist groups targeted Israeli Jews in Judea and Samaria at least 6,343 times in 2024, including 179 instances of gunfire, according to data published by Hatzalah Judea and Samaria in mid-February.
Twenty-seven Israelis were murdered in Judea and Samaria in 2024, and more than 300 others were wounded, the group said in its annual report.
Jerusalem is aware that a “more intense front” could open in Judea and Samaria amid the expansion of fighting with Hamas terrorists in Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on March 19.