The military censor cleared for publication that Binyahu Melat, a member of the Havat Gilad emergency response team and father of two, was killed in the morning's shooting attack. Melat arrived to aid hikers who were attacked, according to Shimon Raviv.
The military censor cleared for publication Friday at 10:22 Jerusalem that Binyahu Melat, 32, a father of two and a member of the Havat Gilad emergency response team, was murdered in the morning's shooting attack near the Palestinian village of Tel. Melat, who served as the community's head of agriculture, rushed to assist a group of hikers under attack and was shot and killed. His name had been withheld pending family notification. He is survived by his wife Esther and two daughters, aged 12 and 13, as The Zioneer reported in earlier updates.
As The Zioneer reported throughout the morning, the attack prompted a swift IDF response: troops eliminated the gunman and recovered the weapon. The Israeli military confirmed the terrorist was killed immediately after the attack earlier, at 11:10 Jerusalem. The victim's identity was initially withheld, and progressive reports disclosed his role as a member of the emergency response team, head of agriculture, and father of two. The clearance at 10:22 Jerusalem followed earlier reports that Magen David Adom confirmed the death at 09:25 Jerusalem.
The shooting occurred near the Havat Gilad outpost in the northern West Bank, an area that has seen prior security incidents. The IDF conducted searches and held a multi-agency situation assessment led by the Central Command chief. MK Limor Son Har Melech (Otzma Yehudit) responded to the attack, calling for a change in the security approach and criticizing what she termed a 'limp message' that discusses 'Jewish terror' of settlers. Melat is the son of Rabbi Boaz Melat, according to earlier reports.
Hiker testimonies earlier suggested that the sheikh of the Palestinian village of Tel may have been the gunman who snatched a security officer's weapon and opened fire, but that remains unconfirmed. Palestinian officials reported that four Palestinians were killed and four wounded in the incident, including the gunman and three others; the IDF has not commented on those figures. The exact circumstances of the attack and the full casualty count remain open to further verification.
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