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Al-Auja stabbing and search
Israeli forces launched search operations in the Jordan Valley after an Israeli man was wounded in a stabbing attack near the Palestinian village of al-Auja, with Israeli public broadcaster Kan reporting the man was stabbed at a commercial complex on the main road near al-Auja.
“the man was stabbed at a commercial complex on the main road near the village of al-Auja”
Israeli police said the victim was a man aged in his 20s and was moderately wounded, while the Israeli army said it set up roadblocks in the village and surrounding areas and that its military was “in constant contact with the residents and security forces in the area”.
Euronews described a 24-year-old Israeli man sustaining moderate injuries on Sunday in a stabbing attack near al-Auja on Route 90, as the Israeli Rescue Service, Magen David Adom, treated him before he was transported to hospital.
Hani Najoum, head of the village council, told Euronews that Israeli forces stormed al-Auja north of Jericho in large numbers and spread through several streets, and that they closed al-Auja’s entrances and prevented residents from entering or leaving.
The incident unfolded as Israeli forces pursued the attacker who fled the scene, with multiple outlets describing the operation as a large-scale manhunt supported by police presence and roadblocks.
Hamas response and closures
Hamas said the attack was a response to what it called Israeli violations and military operations in the occupied West Bank and Palestinian territories, as well as an escalation of violations at the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex in occupied East Jerusalem.
In a statement carried by Al Jazeera, Hamas said: “This operation demonstrates that our people are determined to resist the occupation in every part of Palestine, despite all the campaigns of oppression, persecution, and escalating terrorism against our people,” and it framed the incident as part of resistance despite Israeli security measures.
Euronews reported that Israeli forces stormed al-Auja, north of Jericho, in large numbers and spread through several streets, and Najoum said the incursion was explained as part of the search for the stabbing suspect near the village.
Euronews also said Israeli forces forced shop owners to close their stores, while Al Jazeera reported that the military presence led to the closure of local shops and that soldiers searched homes and collected surveillance footage from private residences and businesses.
The Al Jazeera report placed the stabbing amid a rise in state-backed Israeli settler violence across the occupied West Bank since Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza began in October 2023, citing OCHA data on Israeli settler attacks.
Wider West Bank tensions
The stabbing near al-Auja came alongside other incidents in the occupied West Bank, including Al Jazeera’s report that a 14-year-old Palestinian was critically wounded by Israeli gunfire during a military raid on Askar refugee camp, east of Nablus in the northern West Bank.
“a 14-year-old Palestinian was critically wounded by Israeli gunfire during a military raid on Askar refugee camp”
Al Jazeera said the Palestinian Red Crescent Society’s crews treated a child who sustained a live-bullet wound to the chest, while it also reported Israeli forces used gas bombs and closed the western entrance of al-Mughayyir village, north of Ramallah, with the western entrance described as the only outlet after Israeli forces closed its eastern entrance in October 2023.
Euronews tied the al-Auja incident to a rise in settler assaults in the West Bank, citing Palestinian accusations that such assaults are carried out with support or protection of the Israeli army and political leadership in Israel.
Euronews reported that the West Bank Protection and Development Committee said settlers carried out 798 direct attacks in July and that at least 87 Palestinians were killed in roughly 1,500 attacks carried out by settlers and Israeli soldiers since the start of the year.
Against that backdrop, Al Jazeera reported OCHA data showing 3,033 Israeli settler attacks between January 1, 2025, and June 31, 2026, and it said the incident came as Israeli forces conducted a large-scale search operation in the Jordan Valley.