Two suspected gunmen dead, two IDF soldiers killed in West Bank shooting

Two Israeli Defense Forces soldiers were killed, and three other people were wounded by two suspected gunmen, who were also killed, in a shooting Friday in the southern West Bank, officials said.

Staff Sergeant Ron Yonatan Roytman, aged 23, from Ashkelon, a squad commander in the Ari Battalion (775), Search and Rescue Brigade and Sergeant Yuval Shai Svilem, aged 20, from Hod Hasharon, a combat soldier in the Ari Battalion, Search and Rescue Brigade, both died as a result of the attack, according to theIsrael Defense Forces.

The IDF reported that it responded to a shooting in the Judea Junction area Friday and killed two people it identified as “terrorists.” 

Hours after the attack, Israel ordered the army to prepare for a full closure of the West Bank, according to The Associated Press. 

Staff Sergeant Ron Yonatan Roytman, 23, and Sergeant Yuval Shai Svilem, 20, were killed during an attack in the West Bank on Friday, Oct.23, 2026.(Israeli Defense Forces)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held an emergency meeting of his Security Cabinet, claiming Hamas was “planning a major attack aimed at murdering innocent civilians.”

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Netanyahu also said a large scale operation in the West Bank is to begin soon.

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Israeli forces stand guard near a shooting scene in Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Friday, Oct.23, 2026.(REUTERS/Ammar Awad)

“Our brave soldiers thwarted this attack with courage and determination,” Netanyahu said. 

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Israeli authorities responded to a shooting in the southern West Bank on Friday that left five people wounded and two suspected attackers dead.(REUTERS/Ammar Awad)

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The identities of the suspected gunmen were not immediately released, but the Israeli army did identify them as Palestinians from Hebron armed with an M16 rifle and a handgun. 

Israeli security forces investigated the scene of a shooting near Judea Junction in the West Bank that left five Israelis injured.(REUTERS/Ammar Awad)

Israeli intelligence groups and security forces conducted dozens of raids throughout the West Bank on Friday, apprehending dozens of people, including those who Israeli officials claimed were members of Hamas and affiliated with Islamic Jihad. 

The Israeli army’s chief of staff, Eyal Zamir, said a “large quantity of ammunition was found” in a vehicle used by the perpetrators.

“This ammunition was intended to be used in a larger-scale attack,” he said.

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� Yonat Frilling and Thomas Ferraro contributed to this report.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.