Four Israelis wounded in shooting near Judea Junction, two gunmen killed

Four Israelis were wounded in a shooting attack near Judea Junction on Route 35, close to Hebron in the southern West Bank, on the morning of October 23, 2026. Emanuel Fabian, military correspondent for The Times of Israel, reported citing first responders that two of the wounded were in serious condition and two were lightly hurt, and that Magen David Adom said one of the people it was treating was unconscious.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said troops sent to the scene chased the attackers and set up roadblocks. In a later update, the IDF spokesperson said soldiers had killed two terrorists, were continuing to search the area and had imposed a cordon there. Ynet reported that the gunmen were killed after a short chase as they tried to get away, and that the cordon covered villages in the area.

Where the attack took place

Judea Junction lies on Route 35 in the area of Hebron, the main Palestinian city in the southern part of the West Bank. N12's military affairs reporter Nir Dvori placed the junction within the sector of the Judea Brigade, the IDF regional command responsible for that part of the territory. Ynet's news alerts channel reported that Route 35 was shut to traffic in both directions near the junction after the attack.

How the reports developed

The first word came from the military. The IDF's initial notice said only that a shooting near Judea Junction had been reported, that soldiers were on their way and that the details were being checked. A few minutes later the army said many soldiers had launched a pursuit and were putting up roadblocks. Ynet's alerts channel reported that the pursuit was of an attacker who had fled toward Hebron.

Casualty figures rose over the following half hour. Early reports from The Times of Israel spoke of at least one person hurt. A subsequent update from Fabian said two Israelis had been injured, one seriously and the other in light-to-moderate condition. The count then rose to four, with two seriously hurt, a figure also carried by Ynet and The Times of Israel.

N12 published footage it described as documenting the attack under a headline quoting someone saying the gunman was still firing. Ynet's headline carried a quote saying the shooting had been going on for 20 minutes. Neither outlet identified the speaker in the material available.

Key terms

• Magen David Adom (MDA): Israel's national emergency medical and ambulance service, whose medics typically give the first casualty reports after an attack.
• Cordon: the Hebrew press used the word keter, literally "crown", for a military closure in which troops seal off villages around the scene, restricting movement in and out while searches go on.
• "Eliminated": the IDF's standard term in its English statements for killing an armed attacker.

Points where the reports differ

The earliest statements, from both the IDF and Ynet, referred to a single attacker being pursued. Later the army said two terrorists had been killed. The reports do not explain whether a second gunman was identified during the chase or whether two attackers were involved from the start.

Accounts of the injuries also vary at different stages. One N12 update described one casualty as unconscious and another as lightly hurt, while the later Times of Israel and Ynet figures give four wounded, two of them seriously. These appear to reflect a count that grew as more information arrived rather than a direct contradiction, but the sources do not reconcile them.

What the reports do not say

None of the reports identifies the wounded, says whether they were civilians or soldiers, or names the hospitals treating them. The attackers have not been named, and no organisation is reported to have claimed responsibility. The reports do not say what weapons were used, how the gunmen reached the junction, or exactly where they were killed. The IDF has not said which villages are under the cordon or how long it will last, and it has said only that further details will follow. It is also not stated when Route 35 is expected to reopen.