Gunfire hits homes on northern kibbutz, in suspected attack by West Bank terrorists
No injuries but slight damage caused to Ma’ale Gilboa houses; footage published by Islamic Jihad shows shots being fired at Israeli town in distance; army searching for gunmen
The IDF said Monday that it was responding to a shooting that targeted a northern Israeli town, with an offshoot of the Islamic Jihad terror group claiming responsibility for the attack.
There were no casualties and Israeli troops were scanning the area around Kibbutz Ma’ale Gilboa, where several homes incurred damage from bullets, the army said.
Footage published by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group appears to show assailants opening fire at the Israeli town, seemingly from the West Bank side of the Green Line.
The terror group claimed that the homes targeted are in Merav, a kibbutz in northern Israel that sits just inside the Green Line that separates Israel from the West Bank.
However, the IDF says shots were fired at neighboring Kibbutz Ma’ale Gilboa.
The Emek HaMaayanot Regional Council said in a statement that the attack took place Monday afternoon and that the suspects fired from behind the West Bank security barrier.
נסיון פיגוע חריג הערב בצפון השומרון: מחבלים פתחו באש לעבר בתים בקיבוץ מעלה גלבוע בעמק המעיינות סמוך לבית שאן. ככל הנראה המחבלים הגיעו ברכב מאזור ג'נין וירו מעבר לגדר ההפרדה.
בגיאהד האיסלמי פרסמו את התיעוד הזה, לדבריהם מדובר בקיבוץ מירב. במערכת הביטחון בודקים אם מדובר באירוע הזה pic.twitter.com/jc3tE97XFN
— איתי בלומנטל Itay Blumental (@ItayBlumental) April 3, 2023
Ma’ale Gilboa residents were immediately notified and ordered to stay in their homes. Later in the evening, they were given the all-clear.
Omri Carmi, Ma’ale Gilboa’s chief security officer, told Army Radio Tuesday morning: “We heard gunfire sounds and I immediately jumped into the security vehicle toward the area that was shot at. In hindsight, I spotted the terrorists’ car which was fleeing. Many families were outside because of Passover [preparations], and we had to get all residents into the homes.”
While shooting attacks targeting Israelis take place periodically, they more frequently take place inside the Green Line and the decision to target Israeli civilians inside Israel proper is less common.
Earlier in the day, the Defense Ministry said that a Palestinian man attempted to carry out a shooting attack at the nearby Gilboa crossing between the West Bank and Israel. The ministry said that the suspect arrived at the checkpoint wielding a gun. Security guards identified him and fired a warning shot in his direction. The suspect managed to flee the scene in a car.
