At least 1 dead, five injured in Maccabim terror ramming attack

At least one person was murdered and five people wounded in a terror ramming at the Maccabim checkpoint on the central Jerusalem-Tel Aviv Route 443 highway on Thursday morning.

“I extend my condolences to the family of the victim of this morning’s vehicular attack and wish a speedy recovery to the injured,” Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said after receiving a briefing on the morning’s event. The defense minister will hold a security assessment. “This was an attack with severe consequences.”

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich arrived at the scene of the attack. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he, too, was being briefed on the details.

What happened?

The terrorist rammed into a first checkpoint, according to initial reports, and then drove another 10 kilometers in an effort to ram into a second checkpoint. The terrorist was neutralized by security forces at the Hashmonaim junction. The soldiers had been warned by security personnel that the terrorist was on his way and were prepared to neutralize him.

Some of the wounded were evacuated to Shaarei Tzedek Medical Center in Jeruslaem and Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer. Others were treated in the field by Magen David Adom. According to the first responders, injuries included abdominal obstruction as well as wounds to the limbs.

The terrorist was evacuated to Sheba. Police said he was a Palestinian in his 40s with an Israeli work permit.

In response to the attack, Abdel-Latif al-Kanou, the spokesman for the Hamas movement, said: “The occupation army and its settlers will continue to pay the price for the crimes of their extremist government. The resistance of our people will continue to escalate.”

This is a developing story.