A Palestinian terrorist used a hammer to kill an Israeli in the Bar-On Industrial Park, near the community of Kedumim in Samaria, on Sunday.

“A report was received of a terrorist who attacked an Israeli citizen and stole his weapon in the Bar-On industrial area in the [sector of the] Samaria Brigade,” the IDF said in a statement, adding that forces arrived at the scene and launched a hunt for the assailant.

“The victim is a man in his 40s who sustained severe head wounds,” said Shirel Popkin, a United Hatzalah paramedic who was the first to arrive at the scene. “I administered initial medical treatment in the factory yard, assisted by a military doctor who evacuated him from the scene.”

The victim was evacuated to the hospital in an IDF mobile intensive care unit ambulance, Popkin said in a statement shared by United Hatzalah.

He was later pronounced dead by doctors at Rabin Medical Center’s Beilinson Hospital in Petach Tikvah.

The victim was subsequently identified by the mayor of Kedumim as Gidon Peri, 38, a father of three and a resident of the community.

“We demand that the Israeli government understand that we are at war and order the military to act accordingly. We mourn the death of our friend, but we are not broken—the settlement of the Jews in their land is stronger than any terrorist attack,” Kedumim Mayor Uziel Vatik said.

Following the incident, residents of Kedumim were told to remain in their homes, with their doors and windows locked, until further notice.

In addition, security forces closed the road between Shavei Shomron and the Jit Junction as they searched for the Palestinian terrorist.

According to the Samaria Regional Council, which administers the area, the terrorist had a permit to enter the Bar-On Industrial Park, located around a mile north of Kedumim, and was employed in a factory there.

Judea and Samaria saw more than 500 Palestinian terrorist attacks each month on average in the first half of 2024, according to figures Rescuers Without Borders (Hatzalah Judea and Samaria) published on Aug. 1.

In the first six months of this year, first responders recorded 3,272 acts of terrorism in the region, including 1,868 cases of rock-throwing, 456 attacks with Molotov cocktails, 299 explosive charges and 109 shootings.

Palestinian terrorists have killed 14 people and wounded more than 155 others in Judea and Samaria since the start of the year, the group said.