Ambassador's Son Critically Injured in West Bank Terror Attack

Neria Leitersdorf, the son of Israel's Ambassador to the United States, has been seriously wounded in a car-ramming attack at the Makabim checkpoint on Route 443. Leitersdorf, a reservist soldier, was evacuated to Shaare Zedek Medical Center unconscious. The IDF reported that the attacker was neutralized.

This incident comes after Ambassador Yehiel Leitersdorf lost his other son, Major Moshe Yedidya Leitersdorf, who was killed in combat in Gaza on November 10, 2023. Moshe was a company commander in the 697th Battalion and resided in Ein Tzurim.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant expressed his prayers for Neria's swift recovery and praised the soldiers who eliminated the terrorist, stating, "We will not allow terror to raise its head." MDA paramedics described finding Leitersdorf with severe, multi-system injuries, requiring immediate advanced medical treatment before his transport to the hospital.

Separately, on Yom Kippur eve, Natanel Shkaron, a father of six, was killed by gunfire near the settlement of Neve Tzuf. The attacker, Hamas operative Qadri Samara from Biddu, was later apprehended near Ramallah by the Duvdevan unit after a manhunt. He had fired from a vehicle with Palestinian license plates at people at a spring before fleeing. In response to this attack, security forces closed Route 465.

Approximately an hour after the Makabim attack, an attempted ramming occurred at the Ganim checkpoint in the northern West Bank, where two soldiers from the Paratroopers Brigade's 890th Battalion were targeted. IDF forces responded with gunfire, neutralizing one attacker and apprehending another, with no reported injuries.