CHEVRON DISCOVERY: IDF Finds 15-Meter-Deep Shaft Near Home of Terrorist Involved in Deadly Attack on Soldiers

The Israeli military says troops searching Hebron have found a 15-meter-deep underground shaft right beside the home of one of the gunmen behind Friday's deadly attack at Judea Junction. That attack killed Staff Sgt. Ron Yonatan Roytman and Sgt. Yuval Shai Svilem and lightly wounded three other soldiers. The shaft is only about 75 centimeters wide, and it turned up during searches of more than 500 buildings and sites in the ongoing operation. Inside, soldiers found an electronic device, which has been sent for further investigation. An initial assessment suggests the excavation has no exit.

The IDF stressed that the shaft is deep inside the city of Hebron, with no Israeli community nearby. What it was built for remains unclear, and professional authorities are still examining it. Underground shafts are extremely rare in the West Bank, where they are far more commonly associated with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Meanwhile, the operation has reportedly displaced about 3,000 Palestinian residents, and the army says it has detained roughly 50 suspects for questioning while seizing just two guns. Investigators are still looking into whether the two attackers acted alone or were part of a wider network, and the mystery device may help answer that.