Assailant killed after West Bank ramming attack injures two

The Israeli military said security forces killed an assailant who carried out a ramming attack in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, which medics said injured two people.

Israel's Magen David Adom (MDA) emergency services said it received a report of a ramming attack near the Al-Khader junction near Bethlehem at 2:25 pm (1125 GMT).

"We quickly arrived at the scene with large forces and saw two teenagers who had been hit by a vehicle," MDA said in a statement.

"A boy of about 15 was lying on the ground, semi-conscious, and the other was fully conscious," it said, adding that the teenagers were suffering from head and limb injuries and were taken to hospitals.

The two were students in a Jewish religious seminary in Jerusalem, according to the Gush Etzion regional council where the attack took place.

The Israeli military said security forces had "eliminated the terrorist who carried out the ramming and attempted stabbing attack at the scene."

"Soldiers were dispatched to the scene to encircle and conduct roadblocks in the area," it said in a statement.

Shortly after, the Palestinian health ministry announced the death of Mahdi Mohammad Awad Dirieh, 32, who it said was shot dead by Israeli forces south of Bethlehem, without giving further details.

The Palestinian militant group Hamas praised the attacker, saying in a statement that he had conducted a "heroic ramming operation" that "reaffirms the message of our resisting people".

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967 where violence has soared since the Gaza war erupted in October 2023 following Hamas' attack on Israel.

Since then, Israeli troops and settlers have killed at least 984 Palestinians in the West Bank, including many militants, according to health ministry figures.

Over the same period, at least 36 Israelis, including members of security forces, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations, according to official figures.