Five wounded in shooting attack near Hebron, two terrorists ...

Five people were wounded in a shooting attack Friday morning near Yehuda Junction, southeast of Hebron. Israel's Magen David Adom emergency service said two were critically wounded, two moderately wounded and one lightly wounded. The terrorists arrived in a vehicle with yellow license plates, got out and opened fire on people at the junction with a handgun and an M16 rifle. One of the two terrorists killed in the attack was identified as being affiliated with Hamas.

Soldiers from the Ari Battalion (775) of the IDF Home Front Command's Search and Rescue Brigade, deployed in the Judea area on a defensive mission, returned fire and killed the two terrorists. The IDF said the deputy battalion commander and a company commander, who rushed to the scene, killed the attackers.

Large numbers of troops were deployed to the area under the command of the Judea Brigade commander. The head of Central Command and the commander of the 98th Division were also at the scene. Roadblocks were set up, and a cordon was imposed around nearby villages.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir later arrived at the scene and held a security assessment with the head of Central Command, the heads of the Operations Directorate and Military Intelligence and other senior commanders.

Zamir approved preparations to impose a full cordon around Hebron and nearby villages, intensify efforts to make additional arrests and strengthen intelligence operations in the area. He also ordered preparations for further reinforcements to Central Command as needed.

"This was a serious terrorist attack. The soldiers' swift response prevented an even more severe attack and further casualties among civilians and security forces," Zamir said. "A large quantity of ammunition was found in the vehicle used by the terrorists to reach the scene. It was intended for a larger-scale attack."

Ofer Ohana, a medical professional well known in the area, recorded the shooting and was heard shouting: "The terrorist keeps firing. There are ongoing exchanges of fire between the terrorist and our forces. We can't evacuate the wounded! There's been active gunfire for more than 20 minutes!"

Magen David Adom emergency medical technician Tzuriel Edri, who responded to the attack, said: "We arrived at a difficult scene while gunfire was still ongoing. We entered in a bullet-resistant ambulance and immediately began helping evacuate the wounded. We brought a man in his 20s into the ambulance. He was unconscious, with gunshot wounds, and in extremely serious condition. We provided medical treatment and evacuated additional wounded people to ambulances.

Another critically wounded victim was treated by IDF medical personnel in an intensive care ambulance."

Magen David Adom paramedic Hanan Meir, who was also at the scene, said: "A man in his 20s was brought to our intensive care ambulance fully conscious, with gunshot wounds to his lower limbs. We provided medical treatment, including controlling the bleeding, and evacuated him to the hospital in mild and stable condition. Another lightly wounded man, also in his 20s, was evacuated from the scene with gunshot wounds to his lower limbs."

Magen David Adom emergency medical technician Avraham Eitan Stern added: "A man around 20 years old was brought to us fully conscious, with minor facial injuries apparently caused by bullet fragments. We evacuated him to the hospital in mild condition."

Magen David Adom medics and paramedics, working alongside IDF medical personnel, treated the wounded and evacuated them to Shaare Zedek and Hadassah Ein Kerem hospitals.

Shaare Zedek Medical Center said two victims arrived at its trauma unit in moderate condition. Both were conscious and stable and underwent an initial assessment before being sent for imaging tests and further treatment.

Hadassah Hospital said one victim was brought to the trauma unit at Hadassah Ein Kerem in mild condition and was fully conscious.

The IDF raised its alert level twice over the past month, first around Oct. 7 and again this week. On Monday, the military announced that, following a security assessment conducted by Zamir, leave would be suspended across all military units beginning Thursday.

At the start of the assessment, Zamir stressed that the IDF's mission was to ensure democratic elections could take place "on schedule and safely." He said the military was on the highest level of alert and would maintain heightened vigilance and readiness across all fronts.

Zamir also ordered an increased presence of senior commanders in operations rooms, headquarters and military units to ensure operational readiness.

Amid heightened tensions in the West Bank and a surge in nationalist-motivated violence, Zamir ordered reinforcements to Central Command, including the deployment of the Paratroopers Brigade headquarters and additional troops to strengthen the military's presence in the area. The brigade will serve as a mission-specific headquarters in the area between Samaria and Binyamin, the military said. Additional forces will be allocated to other fronts according to operational needs, including air, naval and ground units.