Man shot dead in suspected gangland hit confirmed as off-duty soldier

A man shot dead the day before in the Arab town of Jaljulia was a serving IDF soldier, according to Hebrew media reports Thursday.

According to the unsourced reports, he was not in uniform at the time.

The victim’s identity and other details of what the Israel Police believe was an organized crime killing have not been released.

A resident of Petah Tiva, he was killed when assailants opened fire at him as he sat in a car along with a 15-year-old Jaljulia resident, according to Hebrew media reports Wednesday. After the gunfire started, the pair attempted to flee the vehicle but both were shot down. The teenager suffered moderate injuries.

Reports said the victim was known to police and was apparently visiting an acquaintance in the town.

Later Wednesday evening, less than an hour after the incident, another fatal shooting took place in the north of the country.

A motorcyclist opened fire on a car containing four people on Route 65. A 16-year-old boy died and the other three people were all seriously injured. An initial probe found that the teenage victim was not the target of the suspected gangland hit, but rather a father and son who were also in the vehicle.