2 IDF soldiers wounded by terrorists in rare infiltration from Jordan; terrorists eliminated by IDF

Two IDF soldiers were shot and wounded near Neot Hakikar at the southern tip of the Dead Sea on Friday when two terrorists crossed the border from Jordan and opened fire at them, the IDF said.

The terrorists were eliminated in the firefight, and the IDF was conducting a thorough search of the area with significant forces, suspecting that another terrorist may have also crossed the border.

The IDF stated that field observers spotted several suspects in the border area with Jordan, near the southern end of the Dead Sea, and alerted local military forces.

Soon after the terrorists were spotted, an Israeli force of the regional Yoav Brigade tasked with securing the border area came under fire. They shot back at the terrorists, two of whom were killed by a male and a female soldier.

During the exchange of fire, an IDF soldier and a reservist sustained light and moderate injuries, respectively, and were evacuated to a hospital for medical treatment.

The IDF called on residents in the area to obey security instructions, as a large number of forces had blocked nearby roads to scan the area for another terrorist, who was suspected of having crossed the border. The suspicion was ruled out after several hours.

The Jordanian border has been a relatively quiet sector in recent years, however, since the start of the war last October, there have been several security incidents.

In September, three Israelis were killed during a shooting attack at the Allenby Bridge border crossing.

“The attack in the southern Dead Sea is further proof of the security challenge that is deepening on the Jordanian border, which runs along over 300 km,” said Army Radio military correspondent Doron Kadosh.

“This attack also proves that, contrary to the old perception that only the northern part of the border (the Bekaa, the part that adjoins the Palestinian Territories) is the main security threat – the more southern areas in the Arabah may also pose a security challenge.”

According to Kadosh, the Israeli government was recently presented with a new plan for dealing with the Jordanian border by the security establishment.

This includes building a new barrier along the eastern border that would cost some NIS 3 billion, however, the budget for the plan has so far not been approved by the government.

In addition, the IDF plans to create another regional division along the eastern border under the authority of the IDF Central Command, which is mainly responsible for Judea and Samaria (West Bank).

The Israeli military is now considering integrating the newly-established 96th Division into the defense plans for the Jordanian border, according to Army Radio.