A fatal shooting incident near a settlement in the occupied West Bank has resulted in four Israeli deaths and five others were injured, according to local paramedic services.
The tragedy unfolded at a gas station situated near Eli, located approximately 10 miles south of Nablus when unidentified assailants began firing.
Reports from Israel’s defense forces indicate that one of the shooters was “neutralized” at the location, while the pursuit for additional culprits continues. In response to the incident, a potential infiltration alert was triggered in Eli, with residents being advised to stay within the safety of their homes.
Motty Dahan, a paramedic associated with the Magen David Adom (MDA) ambulance service, described arriving at a “complex site” when responding to the emergency. He reported that “seven victims had gunshot wounds, some in the gas station and some in a nearby restaurant.”
Paramedics conducted medical assessments and began treating the injured on-site. Three of the victims were swiftly transported to hospital in MDA’s Mobile Intensive Care Units (MICUs). Tragically, however, four individuals were pronounced dead at the scene.
The shooting underscored the fragility of the situation in the West Bank, where on Monday an Israeli military raid into the northern Jenin refugee camp ignited some of the fiercest Israeli-Palestinian fighting seen in years, killing six Palestinians. Militants targeted Israeli military vehicles with roadside bombs and Israeli forces deployed helicopter gunships to evacuate stranded troops.
The intense surge in violence has killed 126 Palestinians and 24 people on the Israeli side so far this year, prompting many on either side of the conflict to fear a possible greater conflagration.
