After witnessing the vehicle veer toward the teens, he opened fire, striking the attacker and bringing the attack to an immediate halt.

By Hezy Laing

A dramatic terror attack in Gush Etzion underscored the split‑second dual responsibilities Israeli soldiers often shoulder, after a reservist who neutralized a terrorist also saved the life of one of the teenage victims struck in the assault.

The incident occurred near the Gush Etzion Junction, a strategic crossroads along Route 60 that has been the site of repeated vehicular and stabbing attacks since the early 2000s.

According to the Israel Defense Forces, a Palestinian attacker from the Hebron area accelerated his vehicle into a group of Israeli teenagers waiting at a bus stop, injuring several before attempting to continue the assault.

The soldier who intervened, a reservist from the 603rd Armored Engineering Battalion, was stationed nearby as part of heightened security deployments across the Etzion Regional Brigade sector.

After witnessing the vehicle veer toward the teens, he opened fire, striking the attacker and bringing the attack to an immediate halt.

Israeli security officials later identified the terrorist as a resident of the village of Beit Ummar, an area associated with multiple past attacks in the Gush Etzion bloc.

Immediately after neutralizing the threat, the soldier ran toward the wounded teenagers to provide first aid.

One of the victims, a 17‑year‑old boy, had suffered a severe leg injury and was bleeding heavily from an arterial wound.

Drawing on his IDF combat medic training, the reservist applied a tourniquet to the teen’s leg, a lifesaving measure that emergency medical specialists say can prevent fatal blood loss within minutes.

Paramedics from Magen David Adom and the IDF Medical Corps later confirmed that the tourniquet was applied correctly and likely prevented the victim from losing a critical volume of blood before evacuation.

The injured teen was transported to Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem, where doctors reported his condition as stable following emergency treatment.

Senior officers in the Etzion Regional Brigade praised the soldier’s rapid response, noting that his actions prevented both further casualties and a potential fatality.

The episode highlights the complex reality of Israeli security forces, who are often required to transition instantly from counterterror operations to lifesaving medical intervention, sometimes within the same minute