IDF troops kill two gunmen who breached Jordanian border; 2 soldiers injured

Army rules out possible 3rd assailant after searches; one soldier moderately hurt, another lightly injured; Muslim Brotherhood says the assailants were members

By Lazar Berman,
ToI Staff and Agencies 18 October 2024, 5:12 pm Edit
IDF troops at the scene of a terrorist infiltration on the Jordan-Israel border near the Dead Sea, October 18, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
IDF troops at the scene of a terrorist infiltration on the Jordan-Israel border near the Dead Sea, October 18, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

Two gunmen who breached the border from Jordan into Israel Friday morning, south of the Dead Sea, were killed shortly after crossing the border by troops who scrambled to intercept them, in a clash that also injured two soldiers.

Soldiers conducted searches for a possible third assailant, the Israel Defense Forces said, but ruled out the matter after several hours.

The Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan said the two gunmen were members of the Islamist group. The attackers were “members of the group and always participated in events in solidarity with Gaza and in support of the resistance,” Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Moath al-Khawaldeh told AFP.

In the morning, IDF observation soldiers spotted suspects near the Jordanian border cutting through the fence. Troops headed to the area where the gun battle erupted, according to the IDF.

The incident occurred south of Neot HaKikar, a moshav on the border with Jordan, where the border fence consists of coils of barbed wire piled on each other.

The gunmen opened fire at troops with pistols, lightly injuring an active-duty soldier and moderately injuring a reservist from the Home Front Command before being shot dead. They had crossed no more than a few meters beyond the border and into Israeli territory when they were neutralized, the military said.

The two wounded Israeli soldiers were evacuated to a hospital.

The attacks were found to be carrying a map as well as an Arabic-Hebrew conversation book.

The IDF and police temporarily blocked roads in the area and carried out ground and air searches in a manhunt for a possible third assailant. The army asked the public in the area to adhere to instructions from security forces and remain in their homes. The search continued for hours after the clash before the army said the possibility had been ruled out.

Images from the scene of the clash posted on social media showed a gunman lying on the roof of a bullet-ridden vehicle and another on the ground near a security fence.

The attackers were wearing military uniforms, apparently those of the Jordanian army, but were apparently not Jordanian soldiers.

Nir Wagner, head of the Tamar Regional Council, told media that military presence in the area had been boosted recently, which enabled a swift response in dealing with the infiltration along the notoriously porous border.

Minister Gideon Sa’ar, a member of the security cabinet, told the Kan public broadcaster: “On the Jordanian border we have known for some time that there is significant smuggling of weapons into [the West Bank]. The Iranians seek to undermine the regime in Jordan. We need to invest money to build a [more robust] fence there, and I know there is an intention to do that.”

The incident came during the week-long Sukkoth holiday that began on Wednesday night, a period when many Israelis go on vacations, with the Dead Sea area a top destination.

Earlier this week, Channel 12 reported that residents in the Arava region south of the Dead Sea had raised concerns about the poor state of the boundary with Jordan and said they had noticed four-wheel drive vehicles approaching the border on the Jordanian side.

The situation carried particular resonance as Israel marked the first anniversary of the ongoing war against the Palestinian terror group Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The conflict began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas led a devastating cross-border attack on the south of the country, leading thousands of terrorists to breach the boundary and kill 1,200 people, mostly civilians.

Many of the attackers drove into the country in pickup trucks that they then used to roam along roads or overrun border communities, slaughtering those they found.

In the months leading up to that attack, soldiers on the border had voiced their concerns about Hamas movements in the area that they suspected were part of preparations for an attack, but their concerns were reportedly ignored by senior commanders.

Channel 12 reported Sunday that according to local authorities in the Arava, the vehicles seen near the border belong to Jordan’s military and their movements are routine.

The IDF told the network in a statement that “there are means of observation that alert of any suspicious movement in the area.”

“The IDF forces deployed in the sector are prepared for any scenario and act according to the situational assessment and changing threats,” it said.

The Friday border incident followed a separate attack on September 8, when a gunman from Jordan killed three Israeli civilians at the Allenby Bridge border crossing in the West Bank before security forces shot him dead.

Anti-Israeli sentiment runs high in Jordan, and the Allenby Bridge attack was the first of its kind along the border with Jordan since the October 7, 2023 attacks.

Israel and Jordan signed a peace treaty in 1994 and have close security ties, but cool diplomatic relations.

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