Yamam counterterrorism officers and IDF forces operating over Shabbat (the Sabbath) in Deir al-Ghusunm, near Tulkarem in Samaria, where terrorists were barricaded in one of the homes.
Five terrorists who were involved in the murder of Elhahan Klein last November were killed in the shootout, and one of them turned himself in.
A Yamam officer was critically injured in the shootout, and evacuated to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva for treatment.
The shootout lasted nearly 13 hours, and included the activation of the "pressure cooker protocol" with two attacks by a UAV on a structure, the firing of matador missiles, and firing on the home, including assistance from engineering bulldozers.
The terrorists hid in a "boydem," a storage area created by constructing a lowered ceiling to provide "invisible" storage space, and managed the fighting from there, while using a number of walls as protection. The officer who suffered critical injuries was injured in the last stage of the fighting, when he searched inside the home and was shot point-blank, during the later hours of the morning.
Among the terrorists killed was the murderer of Elhanan Klein, a father of three from the town of Einav in Samaria.
In a joint announcement, an IDF spokesperson, police spokesperson, and Shin Bet spokesperson said: "Yamam fighters, IDF, and Shin Bet, guided by precise intelligence information from the Shin Bet and Military Intelligence Directorate, operated for over 12 hours in Tulkarem, in the Menashe Brigade, carrying out a precise operation to eliminate a terror cell."
"The soldiers closed in on the building where the terror cell which opened fire at them was barricaded. The forces responded with gunfire, shoulder-fired missiles, and other means, and later, remotely-manned aircraft attacked the structure twice, alongside engineering forces which operated to destroy the structure. Following a shootout, the five terrorists were eliminated. In addition, military equipment and weapons components were confiscated. During the operation, a Yamam officer was injured and evacuated to receive continued medical treatment at a hospital. His family has been notified."
Beilinson reported: "The condition of the Yamam officer who was evacuated this morning to Beilinson from the shootout in Tulkarem is very serious. The medical team at Beilinson Hospital is fighting for his life."