Two IDF soldiers wounded in West Bank drive-by shooting attack

Reservists hit by gunfire during operation on Route 55 near Nabi Ilyas; third soldier treated at scene for minor injury

Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent

First responders at the scene of a shooting attack in the West Bank on July 25, 2024. (Courtesy Magen David Adom)
First responders at the scene of a shooting attack in the West Bank on July 25, 2024. (Courtesy Magen David Adom)

Two Israeli soldiers were wounded in a drive-by shooting attack on the Route 55 highway in the West Bank on Thursday morning, the Israel Defense Forces and medics said.

According to an initial IDF probe, reservist soldiers carrying out a patrol on the highway near the Palestinian village of Nabi Ilyas came under fire from a passing vehicle. The vehicle with the gunman fled the scene.

One of the soldiers, aged 25, was moderately wounded, while the second reservist, aged 34, was listed in good condition, the Magen David Adom ambulance service said. The pair were taken to Meir Hospital in Kfar Saba for treatment.

MDA said a third soldier was treated at the scene for very minor injuries not directly caused by the gunfire, and did not require hospitalization.

The IDF said it was searching for the assailants, bolstering forces in the area, and encircling nearby Palestinian towns.

Tensions have been high in the West Bank amid the war in the Gaza Strip, which began on October 7 when thousands of Hamas terrorists attacked southern Israel under a barrage of rockets fired at population centers all over the country. They brutally killed some 1,200 people, amid instances of torture and rape, and seized 251 hostages.

Since October 7, troops have arrested some 4,400 wanted Palestinians across the West Bank, including more than 1,850 affiliated with Hamas.

According to the Palestinian Authority health ministry, 589 West Bank Palestinians have been killed in that time. The IDF says the vast majority of them were gunmen killed during raids or terrorists carrying out attacks.

During the same period, 23 Israelis, including security personnel, have been killed in terror attacks in Israel and the West Bank. Another five members of the security forces were killed in clashes with terror operatives in the West Bank.

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