IDF kills terrorist Wael Lahluh, who murdered Israeli Yonatan Deutsch

The IDF and Shin Bet killed terrorist Wael Lahluh, who murdered Israeli citizen Yonatan Deutsch, Israel's military announced on Sunday evening.

Lahluh, aged 31, was a resident of the West Bank's Qabatiya, the IDF said. It added that he was the head of a terrorist cell at the time he was killed in the Israeli strike.

The terror attack that Lahluh initiated, which killed Deutsch, occurred back in August.  Deutsch, 23, from Beit She’an, was shot in the area of the Mehola Junction in the Jordan Valley in the West Bank. Another Israeli civilian was also wounded during the attack.

The IDF said that after Lahluh carried out the terror attack, he continued to operate in Jenin, recruiting terrorists and planning to carry out additional terror attacks in the near future.

The IDF eliminated Lahluh when an Israel Air Force aircraft struck and destroyed a terrorist cell that it said carried out several shooting attacks against communities in the Gilboa.

Additional raid

The IDF also added that after the strike, Israel's military conducted a targeted raid in the area and discovered three weapons on the bodies of terrorists. 

Additional weapon parts, military vests, and explosive materials were also located.

"Security forces will continue to operate to thwart every threat against the citizens of the State of Israel," Israel's military emphasized.