IDF Files Charges Against Kamal Hatib for Killing Reserve Sergeant Yehuda Gato in Terror Attack

The Israeli Military Prosecution has indicted Kamal Hatib, commander of the Nor al-Shams battalion, for a terror attack in July 2024 that killed Reserve Sergeant Yehuda Gato. The indictment was submitted to the military court in Samaria and includes multiple serious terror offenses such as leading a terror organization, arms trafficking, and planting explosives.

According to the indictment, on July 1, 2024, Hatib and accomplices remotely detonated a powerful bomb near the Bala neighborhood in Tulkarm as an Israeli security forces vehicle passed by. The explosion overturned the vehicle, killing Sgt. (Res.) Yehuda Gato and seriously wounding another security officer who suffered chest and head injuries.

Hatib is accused not only of orchestrating this deadly attack but also of heading extensive terror activities. He allegedly managed the Nor al-Shams battalion’s operations, recruited militants for reconnaissance and bomb-making, planted explosives, trafficked weapons, and transferred funds and military equipment to terror operatives.

The charges include intentional joint murder, attempted joint murder, leading an illegal organization, arms trafficking, and bomb placement. The Samaria military court ordered Hatib’s detention until the conclusion of legal proceedings. Security sources report that Palestinian Authority security forces arrested Hatib in February 2025, and he was transferred to Israeli custody in April 2026, where he remains detained pending trial.