Fatal Shooting Incident in West Bank Claims Three Lives, Including Israeli Police Officer, Reports Say

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is promising on Monday to catch the “evil killers” responsible for a terrorist assault in the West Bank that resulted in three Israeli deaths, among them a police officer. 

Master Sgt. Elad Yaakov Winkelstein, who was off duty, and sisters-in-law Rachel Cohen and Aliza Raiz were gunned down by attackers who shot at vehicles in the Palestinian village of Al-Funduq, according to The Times of Israel. 

The incident resulted in injuries to eight other individuals, including a 63-year-old bus driver. The Israeli military has initiated a search for two suspected gunmen associated with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad extremist group, as reported by the Jerusalem Post. 

“My wife and I send our deepest condolences to the families of the three people murdered in this morning’s horrific attack and wish the injured a full recovery,” Netanyahu wrote on X. “We will reach the despicable murderers and bring them to justice and everyone who helped them. No one will be spared.” 

Three Israelis were killed and eight were injured following a terrorist attack on a bus and other vehicles in the West Bank village of Al-Funduq. (Nadav Goldstein/TPS-IL)

A paramedic with Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency medical service told the Jerusalem Post that the attack “spread across multiple scenes where vehicles and a bus were hit by gunfire.” 

“During our initial searches for casualties, we found 2 women … in a vehicle, unconscious without pulse or breathing, with gunshot wounds,” Avichai Ben Zuria said. “About 150 meters away, there was an unconscious driver who also suffered gunshot wounds. After medical assessments, unfortunately, their injuries were severe, and we had to pronounce them deceased.” 

Winkelstein is described as being in his 40s, while Cohen, 73, is a school counselor and mother of five children, according to the Jerusalem Post. Raiz, who is 70, is a school counselor as well, the outlet added. 

Israeli policemen block a road after gunmen opened fire on cars and a bus carrying Israelis in the occupied West Bank, killing at least three people, near the Palestinian village of Al-Funduq on Monday, Jan. 6. (AP/Nasser Nasser)

The Palestinian terrorist group Hamas released a statement praising the attack, The Associated Press reported.