Gunmen opened fire on two cars and a bus, killing two elderly Israeli women and a police officer

Image: Jihad Watch

Two Palestinian gunmen carried out a close-range shooting attack on Highway 55 in the northern West Bank near the Palestinian village of al-Funduq, targeting two cars and a bus. The attack claimed the lives of three individuals: Rachel Cohen, 73, Aliza Reiss, 70, and Israel Police St.-Sgt.-Maj. Elad Yaakov Winkelstein, 35.

As of press time, security forces were actively searching for the attackers, who fled the scene by car. The assailants, reportedly from Jenin and affiliated with Palestinian Islamic Jihad, remain at large. Recent efforts by the Palestinian Authority to curb terrorist activity in Jenin have escalated tensions in the region.

Winkelstein was traveling with his young son when the attack occurred. The officer managed to fire two shots at the attackers before being killed. He resided in Ein Hanatziv with his wife, two daughters, and son and previously served as the security coordinator for the town of Kedumim.

Rachel Cohen, a 73-year-old school counselor and mother of five daughters, and Aliza Reiss, a 70-year-old school counselor, were in the same vehicle when they were fatally shot. Reiss is survived by her children and family.

Emergency medical teams treated the 63-year-old bus driver, who sustained serious injuries, along with a woman in her 60s in moderate condition and six others with minor injuries. All were transported to Rabin Medical Center-Beilinson Campus in Petah Tikva and Meir Medical Center in Kfar Saba for further treatment.

The IDF confirmed that gunmen targeted the bus and nearby vehicles. In response, roadblocks were established around nearby Palestinian towns. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu subsequently approved additional offensive and defensive measures to address the escalating violence in the area.

(This Article was originally published by Jihad Watch)