Two Israeli Soldiers Killed, Three Wounded in Hamas Terror Attack Near Hebron

Two Israeli Soldiers Killed, Three Wounded in Hamas Terror Attack Near Hebron

Days after Hamas threatened Israel with another October 7-style attack, the terrorist group carried out a deadly attack near the city of Hebron. On Friday morning, two Hamas operatives opened fire at a military post, killing two Israeli soldiers and injuring several others.

“An initial investigation indicates that the terrorists arrived at the scene in a vehicle with Israeli license plates and opened fire on Israelis at the junction,” The Israel National News reported. “The terrorists, who were armed with a handgun and an M-16 rifle, had attempted to flee.”

CCTV footage of the shooting attack this morning near Hebron in the southern West Bank. The two shooters, Palestinians in their 20s from Hebron, were armed with an M-16 rifle and a handgun. They were killed in a shootout with IDF troops. https://t.co/LwCuZY8aGm pic.twitter.com/AT02yqPcPc

— Ariel Oseran أريئل أوسيران (@ariel_oseran) October 23, 2026

Israeli troops on the scene eliminated both terrorists following a brief firefight. “Following the report of a shooting attack in the Judea Junction area, IDF soldiers eliminated two terrorists and continue searches in the area. A cordon was imposed in the area,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement.

Two soldiers were killed in this morning's shooting attack at a checkpoint near the West Bank city of Hebron this morning, the military announces.

The slain soldiers are named as Staff Sgt. Ron Yonatan Roytman, 23, from Ashkelon; and Sgt. Yuval Shai Svilem, 20, from Hod… pic.twitter.com/560nuOeE3g

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) October 23, 2026

The Times of Israel reported the details of the attack:

Two Palestinian gunmen opened fire at a military checkpoint near the southern West Bank city of Hebron on Friday, killing two soldiers and wounding three in a gunfight that lasted for more than 20 minutes, before soldiers killed both attackers.

The slain soldiers were named as Staff Sgt. Ron Yonatan Roytman, 23, from Ashkelon; and Sgt. Yuval Shai Svilem, 20, from Hod Hasharon. They both served in the 775th “Ari” Battalion of the Home Front Command’s Search and Rescue Brigade. Roytman was a squad commander.

After conducting a preliminary probe, the Israel Defense Forces said it believed the gunmen were planning to carry out a larger attack against Israeli civilians on Route 35, but realized they would not be able to reach the highway and decided to open fire at the temporary checkpoint instead.

They were identified as Mohammad Jaaba and Firas Jaaba, 27-year-old Hebron residents. They were members of the same family, though as of late Friday morning their exact relationship remained unclear.

Israeli troops launched a manhunt in the area to capture Hamas masterminds behind the attack. Following the attack, “IDF soldiers and Israel Border Police officers in Judea and Samaria launched offensive counterterrorism operations in the Hebron area, which has been placed under a cordon, and in additional areas,” the military disclosed. “The soldiers are currently operating inside the residences of the terrorists and additional suspects.”

⭕️ Following the shooting attack earlier today, IDF soldiers and Israel Border Police officers launched offensive counterterrorism operations in the Hebron area, which has been placed under a cordon, and in additional areas.

Over the past week, security forces apprehended ~70… pic.twitter.com/bcotR3hFUd

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 23, 2026

Hamas hailed the killings and called for more terrorist attacks against Israeli troops and civilians. “Hamas praised the attack on Friday as a “heroic operation”,” The New York Times reported. “The militant group also called on Palestinians bearing weapons to shoot “bullets at the chest of the occupiers, their soldiers and their criminal settlers.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a large-scale counterterrorism operation against Hamas in the West Bank, the Jerusalem Post reported:

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the city of Hebron to be cordoned off and for the entire West Bank to be blocked from entry and exit starting on Friday morning, after five people were wounded in a terror attack in the area carried out by Hamas terrorists.

“I have instructed the IDF and security forces to immediately impose a closure on the city of Hebron and prepare for a full lockdown of all of Judea and Samaria, beginning today,” Netanyahu said, adding that the IDF would be carrying out extensive waves of arrests.

“We will pursue Hamas terrorists and those who send them, wherever they are and at any time,” Netanyahu said. “You have nowhere to hide.”

Netanyahu: We'll apply the 'aggressive' counterterrorism model to the Hebron neighborhood the terrorists came from: evacuate residents, search house to house and destroy terror infrastructure pic.twitter.com/fh6a8H0UVP

— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) October 23, 2026

Besides Gaza, Hamas has established several terrorist strongholds in the Palestinian Authority-controlled West Bank.

Friday’s attack follows an open threat by Hamas to carry out more October 7-type massacres, particularly mentioning the West Bank. “Senior Hamas officials have sent Israel an unusually blunt and direct message, warning that the terrorist organization is prepared to carry out another attack similar to the October 7, 2023, massacre and could strike wherever the opportunity arises — inside Israel, in Judea and Samaria and abroad,” Israel’s Ynetnews reported Thursday.

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