The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) have closed off the entrances to the city of Qalqilya in the northern West Bank and sent in military reinforcements following a shooting incident that left several Israeli soldiers injured.

The IOF confirmed that the attack took place on Route 55, west of Azzun, east of Qalqilya, and injured three Israeli soldiers. According to Israeli media, the assailants managed to flee the scene unscathed. The shots were fired from a speeding car that subsequently left for an unknown destination.

This attack marks the third shooting incident in the northern West Bank since the early hours of Thursday. Earlier, Palestinian Resistance forces carried out two other shooting attacks targeting Israeli occupation forces and military positions in Nablus.

The first attack occurred at the Beit Furik military checkpoint east of Nablus, while the second targeted an Israeli military camp on Mount Gerizim, south of the city.

Israeli officer dies from wounds sustained days earlier

In a statement released early this morning, the al-Quds Brigades – Balata Battalion claimed responsibility for the shooting at the military position on Mount Gerizim, stating that they had opened fire on a number of soldiers.

The IOF announced earlier Captain Ariel Topaz, a 24-year-old officer from the Israeli settlement of Pardes Hana, northwest of Baqa al-Gharbiyye, has died from injuries sustained in a car-ramming attack outside a military base in central occupied Palestine earlier this month.

The attack, which took place on July 14 at the Nir Tzvi junction, left Topaz and three other off-duty soldiers seriously wounded.

The injuries were a result of a dual vehicle-ramming and shooting operation. According to initial reports from July 14, the Israeli Red Magen David - the Israeli occupation's emergency service - stated that three Israeli settlers, including two soldiers, were injured during the attack.

Captain Topaz was an officer in the Military Intelligence Directorate's Research Department.