An Israeli civilian was killed and another was wounded in a drive-by terror shooting attack against motorists on a major highway in the West Bank on Sunday afternoon, the military and medics said.
The attack took place near the Mehola Junction on Route 90, the main north-south artery in the Jordan Valley.
The Israel Defense Forces said a large number of troops were dispatched to the scene of the attack to search after the terrorists. It added that soldiers were blocking roads in the area.
Two cars came under fire in the attack, according to the military and medical authorities.
The IDF said that the attack was carried out by Palestinian terrorists in a passing vehicle, who then fled the scene.
In one of the cars, a man in his 20s was shot dead, the Magen David Adom ambulance service said.
In the second car, a man aged 33 was found in moderate condition and taken to a hospital in Israel, according to MDA.
The wounded man had reported the attack to authorities. When medics arrived at the scene, they discovered the second victim in critical condition and declared his death a short while later.
The slain man was not immediately named.
Tensions in Israel and the West Bank have soared since October 7, when terrorists burst through the Gaza border into Israel in a Hamas-led attack, killing some 1,200 people and seizing 251 hostages.
Since then, 26 people, including Israeli security personnel, have been killed in Palestinian terror attacks in Israel and the West Bank — including in Sunday’s attack. Another five members of the security forces were killed in clashes with terror operatives in the West Bank.
In the same period, troops have arrested some 4,400 wanted Palestinians across the West Bank, including more than 1,850 affiliated with Hamas.
According to the Palestinian Authority health ministry, more than 590 West Bank Palestinians have been killed in that time. The IDF says the vast majority of them were gunmen killed in exchanges of fire, rioters who clashed with troops, or terrorists carrying out attacks.