One person was killed and four were wounded after shots were fired tonight in the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba, located near Chevron.
The assailant was shot by Israeli forces and reportedly killed. Reports indicate there are ongoing scans to determine whether more people were involved in the attack.
Israeli media named the terrorist who carried out the attack as Muhammad Kamal Al-Jabari, a member of the military wing of Hamas.
According to Israel’s Magen David Adom medical team, the wounded people were taken to the Shaare Tzedek and Hadassah Ein Kerem hospitals including a man about 50-years-old who was later pronounced dead, a man in his 50s in moderate condition fully conscious and a man about 30-years-old.
Also among the wounded was a 37-year-old Palestinian evacuated by Israeli forces, described as being in moderate condition.
According to Israeli reports, two of the wounded were father and son.
“We suffered a very serious attack this evening,” said Kiryat Arba Chevron Council Chairman Eliyahu Liebman in response to the shooting.
“Five months ago, the Defense Minister decided to open the Ashmoret checkpoint, which had been closed to Palestinian vehicle traffic for 20 years. We warned in real time that the opening of the checkpoint could lead to attacks, and unfortunately, as mentioned, this fear came true tonight.”
Liebman wished a full recovery to those wounded in the attack.
“My family is currently being secured under a shooting attack on our home in Givat Avot,” wrote far-right Israeli politician Itamar Ben-Gvir, who lives in the settlement, on Twitter, moments after reports of the attack first broke. “We’re listening to the instructions from security forces.”
Ben-Gvir claimed his family was targeted in the attack. While speaking with Israel’s Channel 12, the politician said he wasn’t home during the attack, but his wife and children were.
Following an initial investigation, Israeli forces say the shooting was not directed toward Ben-Gvir’s house, but instead a military checkpoint in the area. -24 News
