Sixteen-year-old Yoav Chkroun says his father, Netanel, warned him seconds before a shooter opened fire near the Ein Raya spring at Neveh Tzuf, allowing Yoav to escape and hide until military forces arrived. Netanel, a father of six and an information systems analyst, was killed in the attack. At the funeral, Yoav thanked his father and regional leaders vowed resilience.
Father's Warning Saved Son Seconds Before Neveh Tzuf Shooting Killed Netanel Chkroun
Family and friends attend the funeral of Netanel Chkroun, who was murdered in a shooting attack at the Ein Raya spring near Neveh Tzuf in the West Bank, at the cemetery in his community of Alei Zahav, September 22, 2026. (photo credit: HILEL BEN OR/FLASH90)
Sixteen-year-old Yoav Chkroun says his father, Netanel Chkroun, shouted a warning that allowed him to escape when a shooter opened fire near the Ein Raya spring at Neveh Tzuf. Netanel was killed in the attack; Yoav survived and later publicly thanked his father at the funeral.
What happened
Yoav told KAN News that the two had just finished an immersion and were getting into the family car. "We got into the car. Dad was sitting in the second row drying off, and I was in the front passenger seat. Suddenly he shouted to me, 'Yoav, there's a terrorist here,'" Yoav recounted. By the time he realized an attack was underway, the assailant was only a few centimetres from the car.
"He opened fire toward Dad. I slipped between the driver's seat and the middle seats, opened the door and ran away," Yoav said. "The terrorist kept shooting at me while I ran to hide among the bushes on the far side of the road." Yoav remained concealed until military forces arrived at the scene.
Family and friends attend the funeral of Netanel Chkroun, who was murdered in a shooting attack at the Ein Raya spring near Neveh (credit: HILEL BEN OR/FLASH90)
Funeral and family
At the funeral for Netanel Chkroun, Yoav publicly thanked his father:
"Thank you, Dad, for what you told me and for saving me."
Netanel, the Samaria Regional Council identified, was a father of six and worked as an information systems analyst at Hachshara Insurance Company. His wife, Dr. Merav Chkroun, is a lecturer at Ariel University. The couple's youngest child is four; Yoav, their eldest, is in 11th grade.
Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan described Netanel as "a man of kindness, humility, and love for his fellow man, murdered just after finishing his immersion with his son ahead of Yom Kippur." Dagan added: "These barbarians will never break us; we will build up our land even further."
Contributors: James Genn and Miriam Sela-Eitam contributed to this report.
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