Deep shaft found near Hamas attacker's home

The Israel Defense Forces identified a 15-meter deep underground shaft near the residence of a Hamas operative in the Hebron area on Monday. The narrow structure was located close to the home of one of the militants responsible for killing two soldiers on Friday.

Military officials stated that such infrastructure is rare in the West Bank. Underground combat tactics are typically associated with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, where tunnel networks have influenced military operations. In the West Bank, the IDF maintains tighter control and surveillance, making this discovery an outlier in regional conflict patterns.

The search that uncovered the shaft involved inspecting approximately 500 Palestinian homes and other sites across the West Bank. These efforts concentrated on the Hebron region as part of the investigation into Friday's ambush. Investigators also recovered an unidentified electronic device from within the tunnel and moved it to a laboratory for analysis.

Two members of the Search and Rescue Brigade died in the attack. Staff Sergeant Ron Yonatan Roytman, 23, from Ashkelon, served as a squad commander. Sergeant Yuval Shai Svilem, 20, from Hod Hasharon, was a combat soldier in the Ari Battalion.

Both men were assigned to unit 775. The IDF reported that the soldiers were killed in combat at the Judea Junction. Two terrorists driving a car opened fire with an M4 machine gun and a pistol. The engagement resulted in the deaths of both servicemembers.