Israeli security forces thwarted an active terror cell on Sunday in Samaria, apprehending ten terrorists affiliated with the Hamas terror organization. Elite operators from the Yamam National Counter-Terrorism Unit, the Duvdevan undercover commando unit, and infantry forces from the Paratroopers’ 890th Battalion and the Nahal Brigade’s 50th Battalion carried out the targeted counter-terrorism operation.
During the coordinated sweep, forces apprehended all ten cell members. Search teams uncovered a significant cache of weaponry in their possession, including an M-16 assault rifle and explosive precursors used to fabricate improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Alongside these weapons, forces seized an exceptionally rare and alarming find within the Judea and Samaria operational sector: a combat rocket. The seizure of high-trajectory rocketry carries acute security significance against the backdrop of persistent efforts in recent years by terror elements to manufacture and deploy rocket launch capabilities from within Judea and Samaria.
In September 2025, the Shin Bet, IDF, and Yamam dismantled a cell near Ramallah that had manufactured and attempted to test-launch an improvised rocket from the village of Ni’ma in the Binyamin region. Sunday’s bust marks the latest in a systematic campaign dismantling Hamas terror infrastructure across Judea and Samaria. In March, another 10-man Hamas terror cell was eliminated in the Samarian village of Beita.
According to the Shin Bet, that cell had operated for approximately two years, executing shooting attacks and detonating roadside IEDs against IDF patrols, while actively plotting catastrophic mass-casualty attacks—including the planned abduction of a local Jewish resident. The cell was caught with M-16 assault rifles, high explosives, and remotely detonated ordnance.