IDF forces eliminated the terrorist, who reportedly infiltrated an army guard tower following an exchange of fire.
By Joshua Marks, JNS and United with Israel Staff
Two Israel Defense Forces soldiers were killed and six were wounded when a terrorist opened fire at soldiers at a military post near the village of Tayasir in northern Samaria on Tuesday morning.
The slain troops were identified on Tuesday afternoon as IDF Sgt. Maj. (res.) Ofer Yung, 39, a squad commander in the Ephraim Regional Brigade’s 8211th Reserve Battalion, from Tel Aviv, and Sgt. Maj.(res.) Avraham Tzvi Friedman, 43, from Ein HaNatziv in northern Israel.
According to Israeli media, the terrorist managed to infiltrate an IDF guard tower, where they fired on soldiers stationed at the adjacent checkpoint.
Israeli forces eliminated the terrorist following an exchange of fire, the IDF said.
According to Eli Bin, director-general of the Magen David Adom emergency medical service, two of the wounded were in moderate condition.
A separate MDA statement said that six wounded individuals were given initial medical treatment on site and then evacuated via helicopters to Israeli hospitals—four to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva, and two to Rambam Hospital in Haifa.
The village is located in an area where Israeli forces have been conducting a major counterterror operation, dubbed “Operation Iron Wall,” for the past two weeks.
The IDF on Monday expanded the operation and plans to form a new battalion that will remain in the Jenin and Tulkarem areas once the operation ends.
The IDF has killed more than 50 Palestinian terrorists since the start of the operation on Jan. 21, the military said on Sunday evening.
At least 35 gunmen were killed during ground operations in the Jenin and Tulkarem areas, while another 15 were killed in airstrikes, according to the IDF. More than 100 wanted terrorists have been detained thus far.
“During the operation, the forces located and confiscated dozens of weapons, destroyed hundreds of explosive devices and dozens of additional charges that were planted on roads to harm our forces,” the IDF said.
On Sunday, the operation was expanded to include Tammun, a Palestinian town south of Tubas near Nablus. On Jan. 20, one Israeli soldier was killed and four others were wounded when their armored army vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb in the town.
Earlier on Sunday, the army said it had destroyed “several buildings in Jenin, in the Menashe Brigade [area of responsibility], which were used as terror infrastructure.”
According to the IDF, security forces destroyed 23 structures in the Jenin area, where terrorist infrastructure was located, after searching hundreds of buildings in the area. During the sweeps, explosives laboratories, weapons, observation posts, and more terrorist infrastructure were found.
The head of the Jordan Valley Regional Council, David Elhayani, said on the Kan Reshet Bet radio station after Tuesday’s attack that the IDF’s operation in northern Samaria is not enough:
“Anyone who is under the illusion that tomorrow morning, as a result of one operation or another, there will be no more attacks is deceiving themselves and does not understand the reality we live in,” said Elhayani. “The army is carrying out intense activities and operations unlike anything seen before, but this operation needs to be expanded.”
In a statement released in response to Tuesday’s attack, the Yesha Council expressed support for IDF soldiers and their commanders, praising their efforts to defend Israeli citizens.
“The determined fighting of our heroic warriors pushes the evil terrorists away from the homes of Israeli citizens and prevents scenes similar to those of Oct. 7 from occurring in places like Afula and Netanya, God forbid,” said the council.
“This morning’s attack once again proves that Arab terrorism seeks to harm the State of Israel and IDF soldiers,” the statement continued. “The Israeli government has a duty to decisively defeat Arab terrorism and to announce the application of Israeli sovereignty, which will prevent the establishment of a terror state in the heart of the country.”