The attack unfolded at a spring near the Israeli settlement of Neve Tzuf, where a group of Israelis had gathered. According to Israeli military and police statements, a gunman opened fire from his vehicle, striking a man who was later found with critical gunshot wounds and pronounced dead at a hospital.
Medics who arrived at the scene confirmed the victim’s condition, and police said the shooter was located a few hours later at a hospital in Ramallah and taken into custody.
Within hours, the Israeli army announced that its forces had "eliminated" a Palestinian driver who, they said, attempted a ramming attack on soldiers near the settlement of Ganim, further north in the West Bank. No soldiers were injured in that incident, and Reuters was unable to independently verify the soldiers’ account.
The two fatal incidents occurred on the eve of the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur, and officials did not clarify whether they were linked. In response, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had instructed security agencies to intensify deployments, carry out arrests and launch offensive operations in the area.
Hamas praised the shooting that killed the Israeli man, though the group did not claim direct responsibility for the attack. The violence follows a sharp rise in West Bank tensions since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 assault on Israel and the subsequent Israeli military campaign in Gaza, which has seen an increase in settler attacks on Palestinians, large‑scale Israeli raids and Palestinian attacks on Israelis.