Shortly before midnight on Wednesday, a tragic attack occurred near the Al-Khader Junction in Gush Etzion, as a terrorist fired shots at an Israeli bus. Among the victims was a 12-year-old boy who sustained grave injuries. He was rushed to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital where, despite all efforts, doctors were forced to declare him dead.
The boy was identified as Yehoshua Aharon Tuvia Simcha Hy”d, a son of Rav Zusha Simcha, the menahel at Yeshiva Pnei Menachem in Beitar Illit.
In addition to the boy, four other individuals were wounded in the shooting. They were taken to various medical centers for care. Meanwhile, the perpetrator fled the scene, prompting the IDF to initiate a wide-ranging manhunt. The military quickly established roadblocks and encircled the area around the city of Bethlehem and the village of Husan in an attempt to capture the suspect.
The bus targeted in the attack had been traveling from Gush Etzion toward Yerushalayim. After the shooting, it did not stop at the scene, instead continuing on to the Tunnels Checkpoint, where emergency response teams awaited and began treating the injured passengers.
According to a statement from the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, “Following the initial report, a terrorist opened fire at an Israeli civilian bus in the area of the Al-Khader Junction. As a result of the attack, a number of civilians were injured and are currently receiving medical treatment.”
They added that, “Israeli security forces are pursuing the terrorist, setting up roadblocks and encircling the area of Bais Lechem,” as the forces mobilized to tighten their net around the suspected area.
Of the wounded, three people were transported to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Yerushalayim, including the critically injured 12-year-old victim. A 24-year-old man arrived in stable condition and conscious, while a 55-year-old man suffered a minor injury from shrapnel. Two other casualties, a 40-year-old woman with moderate injuries and a 20-year-old man in moderate-to-serious condition, were taken to Shaare Zedek Hospital.
Magen David Adom (MDA) released a statement: “MDA paramedics are providing medical treatment and evacuating two injured individuals to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital: a 12-year-old boy in serious condition with gunshot wounds and a 40-year-old woman in mild condition with gunshot wounds. Two additional individuals in light condition were also evacuated from the scene.”
MDA Paramedic Elhai Sofer and Senior EMT Yaakov Greenwald offered firsthand testimony: “We arrived quickly at the scene and saw the bus with passengers. We conducted a quick search and found a 12-year-old boy with gunshot wounds to his upper body. We provided life-saving treatment and evacuated him in MDA’s mobile intensive care unit to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital while continuing treatment and fighting for his life. A 40-year-old female suffered gunshot wounds to her limbs. She was fully conscious, in moderate condition, and was evacuated to Shaare Zedek Hospital. Two other injured people, in mild condition from glass shards, were evacuated from the scene. Additional MDA teams are now providing medical care to several people suffering anxiety symptoms.”
At the location of the attack, Yaron Rosenthal, head of the Gush Etzion Regional Council, commented, “This junction is used by tens of thousands of Jews traveling to Yerushalayim, and we will continue to travel and use it. The fight over the roads in Gush Etzion did not begin yesterday and will not end tomorrow. We will remain strong, expand our communities, because that is our true response to these difficult events.”
Rosenthal also expressed a controversial stance: “The right solution is to kill all the terrorists, deport their families, and if we do this thoroughly, I believe there will be quiet here. We are not trapped in outdated concepts.”
In response to the tragic events, the Yesha Council issued a statement calling for decisive measures: “Tonight’s horrific attack is not an unavoidable fate. It is time to take decisive action in Judea and Samaria as well—mobilizing forces, maneuvering within cities, and destroying terror infrastructure. There is no difference between the enemy in Gaza and the enemy in Bais Lechem. Terror is terror, and the solution must be the same.”
{Matzav.com Israel}
May the Rebono Shel Olam comfort the family among other mourners of Tzion and Yerushalayim.