Two soldiers killed in car-ramming attack outside West Bank city of Nablus
Troops named as Staff Sgt. Eliya Hilel, 20, from Tel Zion, and Staff Sgt. Diego Shvisha Harsaj, 20, from Tel Aviv; reports say suspect turned himself over to PA’s security forces
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
Two soldiers seriously hurt in a car-ramming attack near the West Bank city of Nablus on Wednesday night have died of their wounds, the military announced.
They were named Thursday morning as Staff Sgt. Eliya Hilel, 20, from Tel Zion, and Staff Sgt. Diego Shvisha Harsaj, 20, from Tel Aviv. Both were infantrymen in the Kfir Brigade’s Nahshon Battalion.
Following the attack, which occurred near the Itamar settlement at one of the entrances to Nablus, the IDF said it launched a manhunt for the suspect, with a large number of forces involved in the pursuit.
Hebrew media reports said the suspect turned himself over to the Palestinian Authority’s security forces, after fleeing into Nablus.
Local settler leader Yossi Dagan decried the attack, saying the assailant should not have been able to escape “unhindered” into PA territory.
“I again call on the government to continue with full force in carrying out offensive operations in villages to locate terrorists and gather weapons,” he said in a statement.
The attack came hours after Hamas terrorists in the West Bank opened fire at a nearby Israeli town across the Green Line.
Since Hamas’s October 7 onslaught that started the Gaza war, troops have arrested some 4,000 wanted Palestinians across the West Bank, including more than 1,700 affiliated with Hamas. According to the PA health ministry, more than 510 West Bank Palestinians have been killed in that time.
Based on military estimates, the vast majority of those killed since October 7 were shot during clashes amid arrest raids.
