Four of the victims have been identified as Elisha Antman, HY”D, 18; Harel Masoud, HY”D, 21; Ofer Fayerman, HY”D, 63; and Nachman Shmuel Mordoff, HY”D, 17.
By Jerusalem Post Staff and combined sources
Four Israelis were killed and another four were wounded in a shooting attack by two terrorists at a gas station outside of the
Shomron settlement of Eli on Tuesday afternoon, June 20.
One of the victims was identified as Elisha Antman, an 18-year-old resident of the town of Eli. Another was identified as Harel Masoud, a 21-year-old resident of Yad Binyamin. A third was later identified as Ofer Fayerman, another Eli resident aged 63. The fourth was identified as Nachman Shmuel Mordoff, 17, a resident of Achiya.
Two terrorists entered a restaurant next to the gas station and shot several people there before going to the gas station and shooting another person. At that point, an armed civilian shot and killed one of them and the other fled.
Shin Bet, IDF and Border Police forces shot and killed the second terrorist after locating him and attempting to arrest him a short time later. They tracked him as he tried to escape and eventually found his car abandoned,
according to a joint statement. When he was located, they attempted to arrest him, but he resisted arrest and was killed, the statement said.
Initial intelligence reports suggested a strong likelihood that the terrorists were associated with Hamas, IDF Spokesman Brig.-Gen. Daniel Hagari said. A short time later, a Hamas official said the gunmen belonged to Hamas’s military wing, the Izzadin al-Qassam brigades. The attack was in response to the IDF operation on Monday in Jenin, he told Al Jazeera.
Israeli troops entered Jenin on Monday morning to arrest two wanted terrorists. During the raid, the Israeli forces came under “massive” Palestinian fire, according to the IDF. Six Palestinian gunmen were killed in the ensuing battle, according to the Palestinian Authority Health Ministry. The Israel Defense Forces did not confirm the deaths, saying only that “hits were detected” when troops returned fire. Six wanted terror suspects were arrested during overnight operations throughout Judea and Shomron, according to the IDF, and weapons were seized.
Hagari also said that the IDF and Israel Police have increased their presence in the area to provide security to Israeli civilians and to ensure that civilians do not take independent revenge action.
One of the four additional wounded, a 20-year-old man in serious condition, was transferred to Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem. He was in serious but stable condition with a gunshot wound in his upper body and was to undergo surgery soon, according to the hospital.
Two additional wounded were in moderate and another in light condition, according to MDA. They were transported to Rabin Medical Center-Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva.
“We received a report at MDA’s 101 hotline about a shooting attack at a gas station next to Eli,” MDA senior medic Motti Dahan was quoted as saying in a press release. “We arrived with large forces at the gas station and saw a [horrible] scene. [Eight victims] had suffered gunshot wounds, some of them at the gas station and some at the nearby restaurant… Three of the wounded were evacuated to hospitals in MDA intensive-care vehicles, and unfortunately, we had to confirm the death of four victims.”
United Hatzalah paramedics Aviah Chaim and Yoni Rosenfeld also arrived at the scene. “Unfortunately four people were pronounced dead following resuscitation attempts that were unsuccessful,” one of them was quoted as saying in a press release. “In addition, we provided initial treatment to four more people who suffered gunshot wounds. Due to the nature of the incident, United Hatzalah’s Psychotrauma and Crisis Response Unit also treated a number of people for emotional shock.”
Following the attack, Eli settlement chairman Ariel Elmaliach called on the residents to stay in their homes, because of the possibility that the second terrorist had entered the town. The all-clear was given about an hour and a half afterward.
The terrorist who was killed at the gas station was identified as Muhannad Shahada, from the village of Orif, near Nablus, in the Shomron, according to Palestinian reports cited by Army Radio.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that “all options are open” following the terror attack. “We will continue to fight terror with full force, and we will defeat it,” he stated.
Netanyahu said that Israel “proved in recent months that we make all the murderers pay, without exception. Anyone who harms us is in a grave or in prison. That will happen here, as well.”
The prime minister held a situational assessment at the IDF Central Command in Jerusalem on Tuesday evening, after those in his coalition called for a strong military response to the terror attack.
Several senior army and security chiefs were present at the meeting, including Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, Shin Bet Chief Ronen Bar, and IDF Chief Herzi Halevi.
At the end of the meeting, it was decided to reinforce the IDF’s troops in the Shomron with additional brigades starting on Tuesday night, the IDF confirmed.
The police forces on roads and junctions in the Shomron will be reinforced as well, per the Israel Police Spokesperson’s post-meeting announcement.
Israeli residents in northern Shomron called for demonstrations at the Eli and Rehelim junctions on Tuesday evening to protest against what they said was an inadequate response by the government and security forces.
“Settlers have become ducks on a shooting range,” National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said at the scene of the attack in Eli. “I call on the Prime Minister, I call on Minister Gallant, the time has come to launch a military operation in Judea and Samaria. Return to targeted killings, take down buildings, put up checkpoints, expel terrorists and pass the death penalty for terrorists in the second and third Knesset reading.”
Opposition leader Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) said: “Difficult news from Eli. Four murdered people, and the heart breaks for the families and the friends who lost their dearest persons in a murderous terrorist attack. I send condolences and share in the grief of the families and pray together with the whole of Israel for healing and comfort… I trust [the Israeli security forces will] catch the murderers and their senders.”
National Unity chairman Benny Gantz said: “I would like to send my heartfelt condolences to the families of those murdered in the terrible attack in Eli and wish the injured a speedy and full recovery. At this time, determined and responsible actions are required, led by the security forces. We will back up every correct decision of the government in the face of murderous terrorism.”
Foreign Minister Eli Cohen (Likud) said: “It has been a difficult day. My heart breaks for the four people murdered in the horrific terrorist attack near Eli. I send my condolences to their families, pray for the wounded to be healed and support the security forces. In the face of the terrorism that is rearing its head, we must react with determination and strength. The Palestinian Authority, which pays terrorists and their families for murdering Jews, encourages terrorism. I call on the international community to strongly condemn this criminal policy.”
Funerals Held for Victims
Hundreds of Israelis paid their last respects on Tuesday to Elisha Antman and Harel Masoud, two of the day’s terror attack victims.
The funerals of Ofer Fayerman and Nachman Shmuel Mordoff took place on Wednesday.
Antman, a 12th grade student at a seminary in Eli, was buried in the town.
Masoud had just completed his military service. He was laid to rest in Moshav Yesodot, in the Nahal Sorek region.
Eulogizing her son Harel, Yael Masoud said, “Our beautiful Haralush [“little Harel”]. I can’t understand that you are not here with us. How can we talk about you in the past tense? You have only just been released from the army, from the most rigid framework, and you have only blossomed. Now that you have finally started to live, to fulfill your dream and to settle the land you loved—now she is taking you to the depths of her land.”
Fayerman was buried in Eli. Those who knew him said he was “a man above and beyond, full of light and goodness. A man who loves to help everyone, unimaginable.”
Mordoff was buried in Shiloh. He leaves behind parents and seven siblings. His family said at the funeral that Mordoff was “a smiling boy, energetic and loved by all his friends. He was always involved in the sacred, helping others, smiling and strengthening the weak.”
US Ambassador Nides’ Tweet Draws Criticism
A tweet from US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides drawing an equivalence between terrorists and victims of the terrorist attack near Eli on Tuesday drew rare criticism from Israeli Ambassador to the US Mike Herzog.
“Deeply concerned about the civilian deaths and injuries that have occurred in the West Bank these past 48 hours, including that of minors,” Nides tweeted several hours after the deadly attack in which two Palestinian terrorists murdered four Israelis.
“Praying for the families as they mourn the loss of loved ones, or tend to those injured.”
“Any attempt of a so-called ‘balanced’ condemnation is misguided and disrespectful to the memory of the victims,” Herzog tweeted.
“In recent months, terror activities in the northern part of the West Bank have escalated as the Palestinian Authority has lost effective security control,” he wrote.
“Jenin, where the IDF recently operated, has become an Iranian terror stronghold, located just minutes away from Israeli population centers. Replete with hundreds of armed terrorists and laboratories working to produce lethal explosive devices and rockets, this ‘capital’ of terror has become the main springboard of terror attacks against Israelis… Israel will do whatever it takes to protect Israeli citizens and stop this wave of terror.”
Following the criticism, Nides wrote on Twitter: “I condemn in the strongest terms the senseless murder of four innocent Israelis today – my heart is with their grieving family members.”
