Two Israelis shot dead in terrorist attack in West Bank – IDF – The Times of Israel

Two Israeli brothers, one of them a teenager, were shot dead in a terrorist attack in the northern West Bank city of Huwara on Sunday, the military and medical officials said.

The Israel Defense Forces said a Palestinian gunman fired at close range at an Israeli car on Route 60 and then apparently fled the scene on foot.

The two have been identified as brothers Hillel Yaniv, 21, and Yagel Yaniv, 16, who live in the West Bank settlement of Har Bracha.

Graphic footage from the Huwara attack showed the victims’ car riddled with bullets. Troops at the scene found 12 nine-millimeter grenade casings, which charged the attacker used a handgun or makeshift submachine gun.

An initial investigation into the shooting suggested the gunman took advantage of a freeway traffic jam to carry out the attack.

Magen David Adom emergency services initially said its medics were treating two seriously injured men and taking them to a hospital by helicopter. However, it was later announced that they had died.

The IDF said it had launched a manhunt for the gunmen and closed several roads in the area.

Brothers Hillel (right) and Yagel Yaniv who were killed in a terrorist attack near Huwara on February 26, 2023. (With kind approval)

Defense Secretary Yoav Gallant said he would conduct an assessment with security officials later on Sunday. His office said Gallant was “regularly briefed on the details of the terrorist attack.”

Huwara has long been a hot spot in the West Bank, being pretty much the only Palestinian city through which Israelis regularly travel to reach settlements in the northern West Bank.

There were several shootings against Israeli motorists on Route 60 in Huwara.

In recent months, Palestinian gunmen have repeatedly attacked military posts, troops operating along the security barrier in the West Bank, Israeli settlements and civilians on the streets.

Israeli security forces secure the scene of a shooting attack in Huwara in the West Bank near Nablus on February 26, 2023. (Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90)

Tensions between Israel and the Palestinians ran high over the past year, with the IDF conducting near-night raids in the West Bank amid a series of deadly Palestinian terrorist attacks.

A series of Palestinian terrorist attacks in Jerusalem in recent weeks has killed 11 people and seriously injured several others.

Over 60 Palestinians have been killed since the beginning of the year, most of them in attacks or clashes with security forces, but some were innocent civilians and others may have been killed in circumstances under investigation.

Sunday’s attack came as Israeli and Palestinian officials held a meeting in Jordan to restore calm in the West Bank and Gaza Strip amid deadly violence.