IDF soldier killed, 16 wounded during Samaria counterterror op

A second soldier from Sacgiu’s unit was seriously wounded in the same incident, according to the official IDF announcement.

By Akiva Van Koningsveld, JNS

An Israel Defense Forces soldier was killed and 16 were wounded during a counterterror operation in northern Samaria overnight Wednesday, the military confirmed on Thursday morning.

Capt. Alon Sacgiu, 22, from Hadera, a commander in the Haruv Reconnaissance Unit of the IDF’s Kfir Brigade, fell during “operational activity in the Menashe Brigade area,” the army announced.

The Menashe Brigade operates in the areas of Jenin and Tulkarem, two Palestinian terrorist strongholds in northern Samaria.

A second soldier from Sacgiu’s unit was seriously wounded in the same incident, according to the official IDF announcement.

According to Ynet, 16 troops in total were wounded during the incident in the Jenin Camp—one seriously, five moderately and the rest lightly.

An initial probe indicated that an IDF Panther armored personnel carrier was disabled by a bomb buried under a road in the camp, according to the report. The blast lightly wounded the troops inside the vehicle.

Then, when additional forces were rushed to the scene to evacuate the wounded troops, a second explosive charge was triggered, causing the death of Cpt. Sacgiu and wounding additional soldiers.

The Al-Quds Brigades of Palestinian Islamic Jihad took responsibility for the attacks, according to a statement cited by Qatar’s Al Jazeera channel.

Judea and Samaria saw a dramatic rise in Palestinian terrorist attacks in 2023 compared to the previous year, with shootings reaching their highest level since the Second Intifada of 2000-05, per IDF data.

Since the beginning of the war with Hamas on Oct. 7, the Israel Defense Forces has carried out intensive ground operations in the Jenin area, arresting hundreds of suspects and dismantling terror infrastructure, including explosives buried under roads, intended to kill IDF soldiers.

On Sunday evening, Palestinian terrorists remotely detonated powerful explosive devices in Shuweika, a satellite village of Tulkarem, near the fence bordering the Israeli town of Bat Hefer.

The blast took place only 60 meters (197 feet) from the fence and was preceded by rifle fire towards central Israel, according to the Kan News broadcaster.