2025 al-Funduq shooting

2025 Al-Funduq shooting
Part of the Israeli incursions in the West Bank during the Gaza war
Location	Al-Funduq, Israeli-occupied West Bank
Date	6 January 2025
Target	Israelis
Attack type	Mass shooting, terrorist attack
Weapons	AK-style assault rifles
Deaths	3
Injured	8
Perpetrator	Hamas and PIJ [1] [2] Al-Qassam Brigades members and a Al-Quds Brigades member in the Jenin Brigades
No. of participants	3

On 6 January 2025, three Palestinian gunmen carried out a shooting attack on a bus and two cars in al-Funduq, northern West Bank, killing three people and injuring eight others.

Background

Further information: Israeli incursions in the West Bank during the Gaza war

The attack is part of the fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants throughout the West Bank, which has escalated since the start of the Gaza war.

At the time of the attack, the Jenin Brigades, the umbrella militant formation to which the gunmen belonged, was under attack by the Palestinian Authority (PA). The attack was meant to be a message to the PA– that their siege could not stifle militant reprisals against the Israeli occupation. ^[3]

Attack

Mohammed Zakarneh (a member of Palestinian Islamic Jihad), Qutaiba al-Shalabi, and Mohammed Nazal (members of Hamas) ^[4] got out of a white sedan armed with assault rifles and opened fire at close range on a bus and two cars traveling along Highway 55 in Al-Funduq. Three people were killed and eight others were injured, including at least one seriously. ^{[1] [5]}

The attackers fled the scene after an armed civilian fired at them with a handgun. The Israel Defense Forces launched a manhunt to locate them using increased security and road blocks.

Victims

The victims were identified as 35-year-old police officer Elad Yaakov Winkelstein, 73-year-old Aliza Rais and 70-year-old Rachel Cohen. Out of the eight injured people, the 63-year-old bus driver was transported to a hospital in serious condition. ^[5]

Perpetrators

The three Palestinian gunmen were from the Jenin area in the northern West Bank. Hamas's Al-Qassam Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack two days later. ^{[5] [6]}

Aftermath

In response to the attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said that he approved operations for capturing attackers and a series of additional defensive and offensive operations in West Bank. ^{[7] [5]} Following the attack, multiple reports emerged of Israeli settler retaliatory attacks against Palestinians in parts of the occupied West Bank. ^[8]

Qutaiba al-Shalabi and Mohammed Nazal were killed by Israeli forces near Jenin on January 22. ^[9] On April 16, 2025 Mohammed Zakarneh was killed. ^[4]

References

1. "Three Israelis killed in shooting attack in occupied West Bank". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2025-01-07.
2. Fabian, Emanuel (16 April 2025). "IDF troops kill terrorist who carried out West Bank shooting attack in January". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 24 July 2025.
3. "With Gaza rule at stake, Palestinian forces struggle to make their case". The Washington Post. 20 February 2025.
4. Fabian, Emanuel (16 April 2025). "IDF troops kill terrorist who carried out West Bank shooting attack in January". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 24 July 2025.
5. Fabian, Emanuel. "3 Israelis killed, 8 wounded in West Bank terror shooting; IDF hunting for gunmen". The Times of Israel . ISSN   0040-7909 . Retrieved 2025-01-07.
6. Fabian, Emanuel (January 8, 2025). "Hamas claims responsibility for deadly West Bank shooting attack this week". The Times Of Israel . Retrieved January 8, 2025.
7. "Shooting attack on a bus carrying Israelis in the occupied West Bank kills 3". Associated Press . 6 January 2025. Retrieved 2025-01-06.
8. Saltman, Max; Schwartz, Mike; Nasser, Irene (2025-01-06). "Occupied West Bank rocked by day of violence as gunmen kill three Israeli settlers and reprisal attacks reported". CNN. Retrieved 2025-01-07.
9. Fabian, Emanuel (2025-01-23). "In Jenin, IDF kills 2 gunmen who shot 3 Israelis dead in terror attack this month". The Times of Israel . ISSN   0040-7909.