Terrorist shot dead after ramming attack, soldier seriously wounded

A 20-year-old soldier is hospitalized in critical condition after being rammed by a terrorist at a checkpoint.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

UPDATE: At 3:22 in the afternoon, a spokesperson from the trauma unit at Shaare Zedek hospital said that the condition of the “seriously wounded” victim has stabilized and that he has regained consciousness. “The injured man underwent surgery and is hospitalized under follow-up and monitoring for his continued treatment,” the statement said.

A terrorist armed with an axe was shot dead by Israeli security forces after ramming into a soldier and seriously wounding him at the Maccabim checkpoint on Wednesday morning.

Security footage leaked on social media platforms shows a white van slowly approaching the checkpoint, which is located in Samaria just one kilometer east of the city of Modi’in in central Israel, and then suddenly speeding up when in close proximity to a soldier stationed at the site.

After striking the soldier and knocking him to the ground, the van comes to a stop and the driver emerges from the vehicle with an object in his hand. The IDF said that the terrorist was armed with an axe.

The soldier managed to shoot the terrorist dead, despite his grave injuries from being struck by the vehicle.

“The wounded [soldier] was fully conscious with leg injuries,” said Magen David Adom paramedics in a statement. “We gave him treatment that included stopping the bleeding, splinting, and giving pain relievers, and quickly took him to the hospital.”

The name of the soldier has not been made public, but the IDF said that he is a 20-year-old officer and currently hospitalized in critical condition in Jerusalem.

The terrorist was identified by Arabic-language media as 54-year-old Habas Rayyan from Beit Duqqu, which is some 10 miles away from the checkpoint. Rayyan’s son, Qusai, was arrested by Israel security forces in September 2022.

According to Israeli security blogger Abu Ali Express, Rayyan and his son are both affiliated with the Islamic Jihad terror group.

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem praised the terror attack in a statement, calling it a natural consequence to Israel’s “crimes against Al-Aqsa Mosque and our people.”

On Monday, a terrorist rammed groups of soldiers at two separate bus stops near Jericho, before being shot dead.

On Saturday evening, a terrorist went on a shooting spree near Kiryat Arba, which killed one Israeli man and wounded five others, including a Palestinian shopkeeper.