An Israeli man was seriously wounded on Thursday in a stabbing attack near the West Bank settlement of Elon Moreh while trying to extinguish a fire, medics and the military said.

The stabbing occurred close to the Derech Avraham farming outpost. Israeli settlers had been working in the area to extinguish a blaze, which the Israel Defense Forces initially claimed had been set by Palestinians from the nearby town of Beit Furik. The IDF later backtracked and said the cause of the blaze was unknown.

At the site of the fire, a clash erupted between Israelis and Palestinians during which two Palestinian assailants stabbed an Israeli man, identified as Itamar Cohen, before they were shot dead.

“Another civilian who was at the scene identified the attack and eliminated the two terrorists,” the IDF said in a statement.

The Magen David Adom ambulance service said its medics treated 51-year-old Cohen, who was stabbed in the chest and seriously wounded. He was then airlifted to a hospital by the Israeli Air Force’s elite Unit 669 for further treatment.

Troops encircled Beit Furik following the incident and were carrying out searches in the area, the army said.

פיגוע דקירה במרחב אלון מורה: הוזנק מסוק לטובת פינוי הפצוע. עפ"י מידע מהזירה מדובר באזרח ישראלי שהגיע לאזור ע"מ לסייע בפעולות כיבוי האש. pic.twitter.com/STd1jBdX95 — זירת החדשות (@ZiratNews) July 23, 2026

פיגוע דקירה במרחב אלון מורה: הוזנק........

© The Times of Israel