A manhunt was underway Friday morning for two Palestinian terrorists who slayed three Israeli civilians with axes and injured seven more in the Israeli city of Elad hours earlier. Israeli security forces have released the names of two suspects.
Yonatan Havakuk, Boaz Gol and Oren Ben Yiftah, were attacked towards the end of Israel’s Independence Day with axes and knives in two different locations in the city, where celebrations were taking place.
The three men, all young fathers, left behind 16 orphans. Seven more people were injured in the attack, with two of them still fighting for their lives on Friday morning.
It comes amid a spate of terror attacks in Israel that have claimed the lives of 18 people.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett held a situational assessment with senior defense officials on Friday morning.
“Our enemies have embarked on a murderous campaign against Jews, wherever they are. Their purpose is to break our spirit but they will fail,” said Bennett. “We will lay our hands on the terrorists and on those who collaborate with them. And they will pay the price.”
“We won’t surrender to terror,” Foreign Minister Yair Lapid vowed. He added that the attack “horrifies the heart and soul.”
Israeli security forces and medics are pictured at the scene of an attack in the central city of Elad, on May 5, 2022. At least three people were killed in an attack in the central Israeli city of Elad as the Jewish state marked its independence day today, medics said. (JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty)
More security forces arrive at the scene of an attack in the central city of Elad, on May 5, 2022. (JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)
“Security forces will catch the killers and those who sent them, and bring them to justice. We will continue to fight for our independence and the security of the citizens of Israel,” he tweeted.
A Hamas spokesperson described the attack as a “brave operation that deals a heavy blow to Israel,” and said “the Palestinian nation will continue its struggle and defense of al-Aqsa Mosque by all means, and its blows will hurt Zionists and settlers everywhere,” according to the Yedioth Ahronot newspaper reported.
In the Gaza Strip, sweets were handed out to passersby to celebrate the killings, the report said.
On Wednesday, Israeli Police warned that Palestinian terrorist groups, including Hamas in Gaza, have been spreading false information about alleged Israeli violations on the flashpoint Temple Mount in Jerusalem, which has been the scene of violent clashes between Palestinian rioters and Israel Police in recent weeks.
Israeli police and medics are pictured at the scene of an attack in the central city of Elad, on May 5, 2022. (AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images)
The Temple Mount compound, which houses the Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock shrine, is Judaism’s holiest site as the location of the biblical temples and Islam’s third holiest site.
The leader of Hamas in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, this week threatened that if Israel “violates” the Al Aqsa Mosque, it would launch another war.
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