Thursday, December 13, 2018

13-Dec-18: Another lethal Arab-on-Israeli shooting attack Thursday

The scene of today's Givat Asaf  shooting [Hadas Parush/Flash90]
There has been another shooting attack today (Thursday): reports say two Israelis were killed - both of them IDF soldiers according to Israel National News - and two others were severely injured, one critically.

The attack happened near the Palestinian Arab town of Silwad, on Route 60 near the Givat Asaf community, about two kilometers from Ofra, the site of the Sunday night shooting.

The shooters escaped after the attack and a large-scale IDF manhunt is currently underway.

Times of Israel, quoting the Israel Defense Forces spokesperson, says one gunman exited a vehicle along the Route 60 highway and opened fire at a group of soldiers and civilian Israelis before fleeing. It seems likely that the soldiers were there doing security work - probably standing guard to protect the civilians.

It also quotes Palestinian Arab media saying the attack vehicle was quickly abandoned nearby and two suspects — the driver and the shooter — got away on foot in the direction of Ramallah.
Two of the victims were declared dead at the scene. One of the injured, a 21-year-old male, is in critical life-threatening condition with a bullet wound to the head. He is receiving emergency care at Jerusalem’s Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital.

A female civilian is seriously injured and is getting emergency care at the trauma center of Shaare Zedek Medical Center.

The army has closed off the entrances to Ramallah and set up roadblocks throughout the area. Additional infantry battalions were sent into the West Bank both to defend roads and settlements and to conduct additional searches and arrests, the army said.

UPDATE Thursday December 13, 2018 at 9:00 pm: As reported this evening, the soldiers shot to death are Staff Sgt. Yovel Mor Yosef, 20, and Sgt. Yosef Cohen, 19.
Mor Yosef was from the southern city of Ashkelon. Cohen was a resident of Beit Shemesh. Both were members of the Kfir Brigade’s Netzah Yehuda infantry battalion, a unit for religious soldiers... Mor Yosef’s funeral will be held in Ashkelon and Cohen’s in Jerusalem on Friday morning. A third soldier was critically injured in the shooting and underwent surgery for a gunshot wound to the head at Hadassah Hospital Ein Karem in Jerusalem on Thursday. A civilian woman was also seriously wounded... [Times of Israel]

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