IDF Searches Hebron Homes After Yehuda Junction Attack

IDF soldiers and Israel Border Police officers are searching Hebron homes tied to the two terrorists behind Friday morning's shooting at Yehuda Junction. The forces are working under a cordon around the city, the military said. The searches cover residences connected to the attackers and to additional suspects. Troops are set to enter the neighborhoods the terrorists came from, evacuate residents and comb houses one by one for weapons.

The attack struck Route 35 just outside Hebron, wounding five Israelis, two of them critically. Soldiers from the Ari Battalion, a Home Front Command unit, killed both terrorists after a close-range firefight that stretched beyond 20 minutes.

Hebron and neighboring Halhul are now under a full cordon, with entry and exit barred. The IDF's Central Command has set up checkpoints to head off copycat attacks and activated a procedure called Gray Bolt, which requires checks of Palestinian vehicles entering major roads. Those measures have been extended to the Jenin, Nablus and Jericho sectors. The IDF said it would map the two terrorists' houses for sealing and eventual demolition once legal proceedings are complete.

Accounts of the other three casualties differ. Ynet listed two in moderate condition and one lightly hurt, while Magen David Adom, Israel's emergency medical service, reported one moderate and two mild. The wounded were taken to Shaare Zedek and Hadassah Ein Kerem hospitals in Jerusalem.

The terrorists, both 27-year-old Hebron residents affiliated with Hamas, were named as relatives Hamouda Wael Mohammed Jaaba and Firas Samir Mohammed Jaaba. Army Radio rendered the family name as Jua'ba. Each was married and the father of two, and the two men came from the same extended family and lived close to one another.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir approved the Hebron cordon during a situational assessment with the Judea Brigade. He called for intensified arrests and intelligence work, and instructed the military to ready additional troops for Central Command.

"This was a serious terrorist attack. The soldiers' swift action prevented an even more serious attack and further harm to civilians and security forces," Zamir said.

Explosives and a large quantity of ammunition were recovered from the attackers' car. The Jerusalem Post reported that the pair had intended to drive past the junction and target civilians on Route 35, but switched to attacking the troops at the checkpoint, where roughly four soldiers were initially posted, once they saw how many were present. The IDF and the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) are examining whether the two operated as a self-contained cell or were tied to a wider network.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered Hebron sealed and a lockdown of Judea and Samaria prepared, pledging extensive waves of arrests. "We will pursue Hamas terrorists and those who send them, wherever they are and at any time," he said. "You have nowhere to hide."

Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz instructed Zamir to keep the Hebron cordon and the closure of Judea and Samaria in place at least until after Israel's October 27 election.

The operation follows a week of raids across Judea and Samaria driven by Shin Bet intelligence, in which about 70 wanted individuals were detained, among them Hamas and Islamic Jihad affiliates. Forces also seized dozens of weapons, including four explosive devices.