Two police officers killed in Hadera Attack; ISIS Claims Responsibility
The Islamic State (ISIS) terror organization claimed responsibility for the terror attack in the city of Hadera on Sunday night, in which two Israelis were murdered and another 12 were injured.
Israeli police stand next to a body of a victim as they inspect the scene of a shooting attack In Hadera, Israel, Sunday, March 27, 2022. AAP
Border Police officers Shirel Abukaret, 19 of Netanya, and Yazan Fallah, a 19-year-old from the Druze village of Kasra-Smia in the Galilee, were shot and killed by two Islamic terrorists who randomly fired at Israeli in the northern city of Hadera.
Fallah enlisted about a year ago and Abukaret about six months ago. Fallah was survived by his parents, and a brother and sister. Abukaret left behind parents and a brother.
“The soldiers fought heroically, we share their grief and embrace the families of the late heroes Yazan and Shirel who physically defended civilians and thus saved many lives. A highly motivated young man and woman who gave their lives for the security of the citizens of Israel,” the Border Police stated.
Five of the victims wounded in the attack were still hospitalized at the Hillel Yaffe Medical Center in Hadera on Monday.
One of the victims is in very serious, one is in moderate condition, and two are in light condition, the hospital updated. A total of 12 wounded were treated at the hospital, of whom seven were treated in the emergency room and released to their home.
The two terrorists, Ibrahim and Ayman Agbaria, cousins from Umm al-Fahm, one of whom was charged in 2016 with attempting to join ISIS, were killed by a Special Forces unit that happened to be nearby. Both terrorists have Israeli citizenship.
They were armed with three handguns, three knives, cartridges and packages of bullets, body armor and other equipment, and apparently used weapons they took from their victims.
Reuters reported that ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack on Telegram.
The main line of investigation is that the two were inspired by ISIS, similar to the Bedouin terrorist who murdered four Israelis last week in a terrorist attack in Be’er Sheva. He had been imprisoned in Israel for his support for ISIS.
Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai ordered that the alert be raised to the maximum level, and the level of operational activity to the third-highest level. Checkpoints will be deployed on main travel routes, and the public is asked to obey the instructions of the police and be patient.
IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi ordered the reinforcement of four battalions along the border line and in the Judea and Samaria area.
Security tensions in Israel are high, after a series of terror attacks in the Jerusalem area and the murder of four Israelis in Be’er Sheva by an Islamist terrorist, and ahead of the Muslim month of Ramadan, which usually spells an uptick in Muslim violence and acts of terrorism in Israel.
The country’s security establishment is bracing for violence, especially as Ramadan coincides with Passover, and following the first anniversary of Operation Guardian of the Walls in May 2021, which was launched by the IDF following a Hamas rocket attack on Jerusalem that began at the height of the Month of Ramadan.
