Border Horror
UPDATE: Oran Hershko and Yitzhak Harosh Identified as the Two Victims in the Deadly Allenby Bridge Attack
A Jordanian citizen arriving in a humanitarian aid truck opened fire and then began stabbing people before being neutralized, leading to the deaths of two soldiers.
Two soldiers, aged 20 and 60, were killed in a tragic attack at the Allenby Bridge border crossing. The perpetrator, a Jordanian citizen, arrived at the crossing in a humanitarian aid truck destined for Gaza. According to the IDF, the attacker got out of the vehicle and opened fire with a firearm. When his weapon appeared to jam, he continued the assault by using a knife to stab Israelis at the scene before being neutralized by security forces.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was the first to confirm the victims were soldiers, making the announcement during a public conference before an official military statement was released. Emergency medical teams arrived promptly and performed extensive resuscitation efforts on the two men, but unfortunately, they had to declare them dead at the scene.
A joint investigation by the IDF and Shin Bet has been launched to determine how the armed individual was able to access the secure area. A military source revealed that the attack was likely made possible by "careful intelligence gathering." The attacker reportedly knew the area after working as a truck driver for humanitarian aid to Gaza for 3 months, he knew the routines of the security personnel, and the vulnerabilities within the security system. Following the incident, humanitarian aid from Jordan to Gaza was temporarily halted pending a full investigation.
This incident marks the second fatal attack at the crossing in the last year. Just last September, three Israelis, Sergeant First Class Roni Shikori, Inspector Erik Ben Eliyahu, and Sergeant First Class Hadas Barantz, were killed in a similar attack by a Jordanian truck driver who had also concealed a weapon in his vehicle. The Allenby Bridge, which is jointly managed by Israel and Jordan, serves as a crucial transit point for both goods and people traveling between Jordan and the area's Palestinian population.
UPDATE: The two victims of the attack at the Allenby Bridge crossing have been identified as Sergeant Oran Hershko, 20, of Tel Mond, and Lieutenant Colonel (res.) Yitzhak Harosh, 68, of Jerusalem. Hershko, a liaison officer for foreign forces in the Tevel Brigade, was posthumously promoted from corporal to sergeant. Harosh was a reservist officer in Unit 309 of the Civil Administration. The families of both soldiers have been notified.