Jerusalem: A 24-year-old Indian-origin Israeli soldier from the Bnei Menashe community was killed in a vehicle-ramming attack close to the West Bank's Beit El settlement, community members said.
Staff Sergeant Geri Gideon Hanghal was a resident of Nof HaGalil and a soldier in the Kfir Brigade's Nahshon Battalion, the Israeli Army said.
Community members said that they were "in shock at the news of the loss of a young life" near Asaf Junction.
Hanghal immigrated to Israel from northeast India in 2020. Some 300 Bnei Menashe youngsters are said to be doing Army duty during the current war, most of them serving in combat units.
The Bnei Menashe, hailing from India's north-eastern states of Manipur and Mizoram, are believed to have descended from the Israelite tribe of Menasseh, one of the "lost tribes" of ancient times.
Shlomo Amar, Sephardic Chief Rabbi, declared them descendants of Menasseh in 2005 paving the path for their immigration to Israel as members of a "lost tribe". Some 5,000 members of the Bnei Menashe community are said to have immigrated to Israel, including almost 1,500 in the past five years. Another 5,500 still live in India and are waiting to immigrate.
Nof HaGalil Mayor, Ronen Plot, was quoted by Ynetnews as saying that "the city of Nof HaGalil mourns and grieves the loss of Staff Sgt. Hanghal. Gideon was a member of the Bnei Menashe community, which is very dear to my heart - good, humble and patriotic people".
Footage from the scene of the attack showed a truck with a Palestinian license plate veering off a busy highway and barrel full speed into an Israel Defence Forces (IDF) guard post adjacent to a bus stop before coming to a halt.
The suspect was named by Israeli security sources as 58-year-old Hayil Dhaifallah, from the central West Bank town of Rafat.
The attack follows a series of attempted suicide bombings and shooting incidents emanating from the West Bank and claimed by Islamic Hamas.
