3 killed in Elad attack as Independence Day ends
At least three people were killed and four injured in an attack in Elad near Petah Tikva toward the end of Independence Day on Thursday night.
Two of the victims, age 60 and 35, were seriously wounded and transported to Sheba Hospital in Tel Hashomer and Beilinson Hospital sedated and intubated. A 40-year-old male was moderately wounded and transported to Beilinson Hospital, and a 23-year-old male who fought with the terrorists was brought in mild condition to the hospital.
MDA Paramedic Alon Rizkan, who arrived at the scene and treated the victims, called it“a very difficult call.”
According to reports, the injured were attacked by perpetrators, one wielding an ax and another a gun, in two different locations, including near Elad Amphitheater Park.
Checkpoints were deployed along the city’s main roads while police searched by helicopter
for a vehicle that was seen fleeing the scene.
The Elad Municipality
asked residents to shelter in place.
The attack came toward the
end of Independence Day, with many families gathering outdoors to celebrate the country’s 74th anniversary. It occurred as tensions have been high in Israel following a wave of deadly attacks that has now killed 19 Israelis.
The IDF had reinforced troops in the West Bank by 12 battalions for a total of 25 battalions in order to bring the current wave of violence to an end without further attacks. Last week the IDF announced the decision to recruit six reserve battalions in the coming weeks after a situational assessment.
The huge boost in troops allows the military to carry out offensive operations in the West Bank and deploy troops along the security fence in order to prevent Palestinians from crossing into Israel through holes in the fence.
With at least two of the attacks carried out by Palestinians who illegally crossed into Israel through holes in the fence, the IDF has already begun to dig trenches to prevent vehicles from crossing, as well as additional defenses along the barrier.
A third attack, at the entrance to Ariel last week, was carried out by two Palestinians who were driving a stolen Israeli car.
Hamas spokesman Abd al-Latif al-Qanou praised the attack, saying that is was “a heroic and qualitative operation that constitutes a severe blow to the occupation and its security system, in the context of responding to the crimes of the occupation and the settlers’ incursions into al-Aqsa Mosque.”
He said that Israel is “paying the price for its crimes and its racist policy against our people, and our people will not tire or get bored until the occupation is swept away. Our people will continue their struggle and defense of al-Aqsa Mosque by all means and tools, and its strikes will reach the Zionists and the herds of settlers wherever they go and settle down.”
The increase in troop deployment in the West Bank is expected to last until the end of the year in order to allow soldiers to carry out offensive operations to arrest suspects believed to be involved in terror.
The IDF had announced ahead of Memorial Day and Independence Day the imposing of a closure on the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with the exception of humanitarian, medical and exceptional cases made with the approval of the IDF’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the territories.
The closure was set to last until Friday.