Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will convene the defense minister and chief of staff in the coming minutes to discuss the response to a fatal shooting attack this morning in Havat Gilad, a settlement in Samaria. Netanyahu said the government will act forcefully against the terrorists and their senders, vowing not to let terror in Judea and Samaria raise its head.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a meeting of the defense minister and chief of staff at approximately 10:11 Jerusalem on Friday, following a fatal shooting attack near Havat Gilad in Samaria. The Prime Minister's Office stated that the meeting would discuss the response to the attack, which the IDF characterized as a terrorist incident.
The attack began around 08:22 Jerusalem when a group of Israeli hikers was attacked near the village of Tel, close to the Havat Gilad settlement. According to the IDF, the incident escalated when a security officer from Havat Gilad arrived at the scene and was wounded, with his weapon snatched. Magen David Adom (MDA) reported treating four wounded individuals initially, including one unconscious. By 09:12, a MDA spokesperson confirmed that one victim had been pronounced dead at the scene. At 10:05, MDA updated that the final casualty count was one fatality (a man in his 30s), one seriously wounded (a man in his 20s), and one moderately wounded (a man in his 25s). The injured were evacuated by helicopter.
IDF forces imposed a curfew on the city of Nablus and the village of Tel as a manhunt for the attackers continues. The head of the Shomron Council visited the scene.
Netanyahu said: 'We will act forcefully against the terrorists and their senders, and will not allow terror in Judea and Samaria to raise its head.' The meeting is expected to coordinate the operational and intelligence response.
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