Sergeant Maxime Molchanov, 20, is the soldier killed in the attack at the Maccabim checkpoint this Thursday morning. Molchanov was near the checkpoint on Route 443, along with three other militants who were also injured, one in serious condition and two in minor condition.
Molchanov emigrated from Ukraine to Israel to recruit there and lived in Herzliya. He was a fighter in the 282nd Fire Department.
Earlier, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant expressed his condolences to the soldier’s family and wished the injured a full recovery. “This is an attack with serious consequences. We fully thank the security forces for their decisive action that led to the elimination of the terrorist in a short period of time,” he said.
Earlier, Commissioner Kobi Shabtai arrived at the scene of the attack and conducted a situation assessment together with Central District Commander Avi Biton.
“As far as we know, the terrorist is a 41-year-old Palestinian living in the territories with a work permit. The terrorist did not pass the checkpoint but turned around and ran over the soldiers,” he explained. According to him, the security forces know the identity of the terrorist who entered Israel at half past four in the morning.