JERUSALEM (VINnews) — In a 12-hour anti-terror operation which took place on Saturday, Israeli military forces, police and Shin Bet members eliminated a terror cell responsible for the death of Elchanan Klein HyD, a resident of Samaria who was murdered while returning from IDF reserve service on November 2nd.
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During the operation, an officer in the police’s elite Yamam counter-terrorism unit was very seriously wounded and five Palestinian terrorists were eliminated Saturday in the town of Dayr al-Ghusun near Tulkarm in Samaria.
The IDF said that the terror cell, which had perpetrated several shooting attacks injuring Israelis and killing Klein, was planning additional attacks, including bombings, the military said.
Five members of the cell, who were barricaded in a building, were killed following a gun battle that lasted some 12 hours, the statement said.
After coming under fire from the building, troops carried out a tactic known as “pressure cooker” that involves escalating the volume of fire directed at a building to force suspects to come out.
Armored bulldozers demolished part of the building, troops fired several shoulder-launched missiles at the structure, and a Hermes 450 drone carried out two airstrikes, according to the IDF.
Troops also seized several weapons amid the raid, the military added. The IDF said that the cell was responsible for the murder of Klein as well ad for another shooting attack and attempted car bombing on Route 55 on April 7th, in which two Israelis were injured.
The IDF identified four of the cell members as Adnan Samara, 40, a Hamas operative who had been previously jailed for terror activity; Alaa Shreiteh, 45, a Hamas operative previously jailed by Israel between 2002 and 2016; Tamer Faqha, 32, a Hamas operative; and Asal Badran, 42, a Palestinian Islamic Jihad operative previously jailed by Israel.
The wounded police officer was taken to Beilinson Medical Center in Petah Tikva, which said they were listed in “very serious” condition.
“The medical staff at Beilinson Hospital are fighting for his life,” the medical center said.