Palestinian gunman opens fire at Hebron settlement neighborhood, is killed by troops
No injuries in shooting attack, which Palestinian media reports say was carried out by a Hamas-affiliated imam in the West Bank city
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
A Palestinian gunman opened fire Saturday at an Israeli settlement neighborhood in the West Bank city of Hebron, according to the military, before being shot dead by troops.
Video footage showed the gunman shooting from a cemetery before he was fatally struck.
Suspected infiltration alarms sounded in the area as the Israel Defense Forces said troops were scanning for additional suspects.
There were no injuries in the attack, several hours after which the Home Front Command gave residents an all-clear to leave their homes.
The gunman was named by Palestinian media as Muhammad Nofal, the imam of Hebron’s al-Qassam mosque. He was also reportedly affiliated with Hamas.
The IDF later announced troops were operating around Nofal’s home and questioning suspects in the area, as Central Command chief Maj. Gen. Yehuda Fox and other commanders held a security assessment at the scene of the shooting.
"لم يتمالك نفسه وهو يرى أطفال غزة يموتون جوعاً وقصفاً" …. منفذ إطلاق النار في الخليل هو الحافظ لكتاب الله "محمود نوفل" إمام مسجد القاسم .???????? pic.twitter.com/p9MTZvm985
— غزة الآن – Gaza Now (@nowgnna) March 16, 2024
The shooting in Hebron came as security forces in Jerusalem and the West Bank have been on high alert since Ramadan started earlier this week. Tensions were already high between Israelis and Palestinians due to the outbreak of the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza following the October 7 massacre, which saw Hamas terrorists murder about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnap 253.
Palestinians say over 400 people have been killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank since hostilities broke out, most while carrying out attacks or during clashes with IDF troops during nightly raids that have largely concentrated on a handful of areas in the northern West Bank. However, killings of innocent bystanders have also been alleged.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
