One Israeli was killed and another moderately wounded when terrorists opened fire at their vehicles near the Mehola Junction in the northern Jordan Valley on Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces confirmed.
“Terrorists fired from a passing vehicle at several cars in the area of the Mehola Junction on Route 90 in the [sector of the Judea and Samaria Division’s 417th] Bekaa and Emekim Brigade,” the IDF stated.
Magen David Adom medics, working alongside IDF soldiers, pronounced the death of a man in his 20s and evacuated the moderately wounded victim—a 33-year-old male with gunshot wounds to his lower body— to a hospital by helicopter, the emergency service said in a statement.
The man was identified as Yonatan Deutsch, age 23, from Beit Shean. Yonatan was engaged to be married and had recently completed his IDF service after serving in the elite Maglan unit.
IDF troops made their way to the scene and opened a manhunt for the terrorists.
הפקרת היהודים בבקעה: נכון לכרגע יש שתי זירות , אחת דרומית לצומת מחולה על כביש 578 ועוד אחת דרומית לצומת מחולה על כביש 90 . pic.twitter.com/dpqSXmxNVr
— תורת לחימה (@Torat_IDF) August 11, 2024
Last week, Arab terrorists twice tried to ambush IDF troops with remotely detonated roadside bombs near the Jordan Valley town of Beka’ot, located some 9 miles south-southwest of Mehola.
In the first six months of 2024, medical authorities recorded 3,272 terror attacks in Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley, including 1,868 cases of rock-throwing, 456 fire-bombings, 299 IED charges and 109 shootings.
JewishPress.com News Desk contributed to this report.
