Friday, March 29, 2024 -
Print Edition

Two terrorists, 16 orphans

JERUSALEM — A series of terrorist attacks roiled Israel last week, leading to the launch of Operation Chariots of Fire, an Israel Defense Forces war exercise that aims to prepare forces for intense multi-arena combat in the air, at sea, on land and in the cyber arena, the Israeli military stated.

Israeli security and rescue teams at the scene of the terror attack in Elad, May 5, 2022. (Jamal Awad/Flash90)

On Israel Independence Day, May 5, three Israelis were killed and at least four injured in the central Israeli city of Elad, not far from Petah Tikvah. 

The victims of the Elad terror attack were identified as Yonatan Havakuk, 44, of Lod; Boaz Gol, 49, of Elad; and Oren Ben Yiftah, 35, of Lod. Thousands attended their funeral, May 6. 

The three men leave behind 16 children between them.

Gol was a mechanic and a member of the Bukharian community. He was returning home from a Torah class in a local synagogue when he was murdered. He is survived by his wife and five children.

In the hours before his murder, Ben Yiftah had been driving a rabbi to a Torah class. According to Chabad.org, he spoke to the rabbi about matters of faith and his own spiritual work. After dropping him off, he continued to Elad, where he was killed. He leaves behind his wife and six young children.

Havakuk, a father of five, was out looking for his son in the local park when he was murdered.

His wife, Limor, posted on social media: 

“My heart refuses to believe I was left alone with five orphans. 

“My heart burned that my soft children saw their father in his final moments. My husband fought against them with great bravery and saved many lives while we fought with them for long minutes. Which allowed many to escape from the place. 

“May G-d avenge your blood my dear and beloved husband. You will be greatly missed.”

“The decision to continue the closure on Gaza is designed to send a message to [Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar]: There is a price to your incitement,” said Ynet.

On April 30, the Hamas leader made a speech calling for lone-wolf assaults with guns, cleavers, axes and knives.

As’ad Yousef As’ad al-Rifa’i, 19, and Subhi Emad Subhi Abu Shqeir, 20, from the Palestinian village of Rumana near Jenin, were captured in a forest near Elad following a 60-hour manhunt, according to police.

After an initial medical check, the terrorists were transferred to the Shin Bet for questioning. One of the suspects, the report said, left a will declaring his intention to murder and die “for Al Aqsa.”

Four accomplices were also arrested, also in connection to an April 29 attack in Ariel, in the West Bank.

On Sunday, May 8, a resident of Tekoa shot and killed an armed Palestinian who had infiltrated the Gush Etzion town, according to a statement by the Israel Defense Forces. The resident is a member of a local armed response unit, according to the IDF.

Israeli forces quickly arrived on the scene and began sweeping for additional infiltrators, the statement continued. Residents were instructed to remain in their homes until the sweeps were completed.

The resident had spotted the suspect near the entrance to his own home, which is located near the town’s outer fence, and opened fire, Ynet reported.

The terrorist, who was later identified as Muatzam Muhammad Taleb Atallah, from the Palestinian village of Harmala, south of Bethlehem, was armed with a knife, according to the IDF.

The incident came within an hour of another attack, in Jerusalem, in which a Palestinian stabbed and moderately wounded a Border Police officer near the Old City’s Damascus Gate before being shot by other officers on the scene. 

The assailant, identified as Mahmoud Sami Khalil Aram, 19, from Abwein in the Ramallah area, was evacuated to hospital in critical condition, where he later died of his wounds.

Also on May 8, Israeli security forces shot and killed a Palestinian attempting to illegally cross from the West Bank into Israel.

The suspect, named by Israel National News as Mahmoud Sami Khalil, a resident of Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip, crossed into Israel from the Gaza Strip in 2019 and had been residing illegally in the West Bank while working in Israel without a permit, according to the IDF.

Israeli forces saw Khalil entering via a breach in the security barrier and ordered him to stop, opening fire after he ignored their calls, the military said in a statement.

Khalil was airlifted to the Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan in critical condition. Doctors later pronounced him dead.

Israel’s Security Cabinet decided on May 8 to maintain the closure on the Erez border crossing linking the Gaza Strip to Israel, preventing the flow of some 12,000 Palestinian Gazan workers into Israel for work, Ynet reported.

Crossings for humanitarian-medical reasons will continue, subject to approval by the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, IDF Maj. Gen. Ghassan Alian.

Crossings linking Israel to the West Bank, which had been closed since May 3, reopened May 9 in line with the Cabinet decision. 

However, travel restrictions remain in place around the village of Rumana in northern Samaria, near Jenin, the hometown of the perpetrators of the Elad attack.



Avatar photo

Leave a Reply