Israeli man killed, five hurt in central Israel terror shooting spree by Arab Israeli

An Arab Israeli terrorist opened fire in several locations in a shooting spree in central Israel on Sunday, killing an IDF reservist who served as a civil defense squad member, and wounding five other people, before he was shot dead by security forces, first responders said. Police later arrested a second man accused of involvement in the attack.

The Magen David Adom ambulance service said it treated two men in their 30s shot at a gas station near Kochav Ya’ir, one of whom was in serious condition; a 31-year-old man and 61-year-old woman shot in the entrance to Tzur Yitzhak, both of them in moderate condition; and two men shot outside Tzur Natan — one who succumbed to his wounds and another man who was in serious condition.

The slain man was identified by the military as Master Sgt. (res.) Haim Kalomiti, 55, a reservist soldier from Tzur Natan who was a member of the community’s civil defense squad.

Kalomiti, a married father of three, served in the IDF’s Ephraim Regional Brigade as a “regional defense soldier” — a reservist recruited by the military to defend their community in the West Bank or along the border. Tzur Natan is located adjacent to the West Bank security barrier.

The Drom HaSharon Regional Council said that Kalomiti “was killed while going out to save lives and worked extensively for the security of the State of Israel.” The Prime Minister’s Office said he “engaged the terrorist and courageously defended the residents of Tzur Natan from the despicable terrorist who embarked on a murderous shooting spree.”

Alongside Kalomiti, the security coordinator for Tzur Natan was severely wounded in the attack, according to the military. The security coordinator, also a reservist, was taken to a hospital and his family was notified, the army added.

After the attack began in Kochav Ya’ir, sirens sounded in Tzur Natan and Tzur Yitzhak, warning of terrorist infiltration and calling on residents to barricade themselves at home. The order was lifted some five hours later.

The three communities, north of Tel Aviv, neighbor each other and lie close to the West Bank security barrier on the Israeli side.

Security officials identified the terrorist as Omar Yassin, an Israeli citizen in his 20s who resided in Tayibe, an Arab town just north of Kochav Ya’ir.

According to the police and security officials, Yassin headed out of Tayibe at around 10:30 a.m. in a vehicle with Israeli license plates that was on the road illegally, while armed with a makeshift “Carlo” submachine gun.

He first opened fire at civilians at a gas station near Kochav Ya’ir, injuring two people, before continuing toward Tzur Yitzhak, where he opened fire at the community’s security post, injuring one civilian in the area, police said.

Police said Yassin then continued to Tzur Natan, where he opened fire on that community’s guard post, wounding the security coordinator and a civilian woman who was nearby. On a road outside the community, the terrorist opened fire on a vehicle, killing Kalomiti.

After the shootings near those communities, the terrorist drove to the nearby West Bank settlement of Sal’it — located in the “seam zone,” meaning on the Israeli side of the West Bank security barrier — opened fire on the entrance to the settlement and fled after the local security chief shot back. No one was injured in that incident.

Police officers finally caught up to the terrorist at around 11:03 a.m. near a quarry on the outskirts of Tayibe and shot him dead, the police said.

Following the attack, the IDF said it encircled several West Bank Palestinian villages in the area of Kochav Ya’ir and sealed off a nearby crossing into Israel.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held an assessment following the attack and was monitoring the situation, his office said.

After initially saying the perpetrator who had been shot dead acted alone, police later said they arrested a second suspect, a man in his 20s also from Tayibe.

Police said that officers received intelligence on a man who admitted to his involvement in the attack while searching for help in hiding from law enforcement.

During his arrest, the suspect tried to stab police detectives with a glass bottle, police said. Officers managed to subdue him and take him into custody with no injuries.

Hila Hakmon, head of the Kochav Ya’ir local council, said the attack underscored the West Bank border communities’ demands for greater defense funding following the Hamas-led onslaught in Gaza border communities on October 7, 2023.

“Unfortunately, the changes in the security elements over the past two years are relatively marginal,” she told Army Radio. “We got some kind of funding from the army, but it’s a drop in the bucket compared to what is needed here, and the proof is what happened today.”

Moshe, an eyewitness who has lived in the area for the past four decades, was quoted by the Haaretz newspaper as saying, “I don’t know of an event like this in the past 40 years.”

“I heard the sound of submachine guns, poked my head out of the window and immediately heard there was an incident that began in Kochav Ya’ir,” he said.

“I’m not afraid — I have plenty of friends in Tayibe and Tira, neighbors. I live with them in peace,” he added, referring to two neighboring Arab cities.

An unnamed relative of the killed terrorist was quoted by Haaretz as saying Israeli security forces raided the family home in Tayibe.

“Large forces came and started beating us,” she said. “They seated us on the floor, covered our eyes and interrogated us. They let me leave because I was with a child.”

Nava Freiberg and Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.