- Police said the gunmen opened fire from automatic weapons on several vehicles
- The incident occurred near Maale Adumim settlement, east of Jerusalem
One person has been killed and seven more wounded by gunmen who opened fire in the West Bank today, Israeli police have said.
The three gunmen opened fire from automatic weapons on several vehicles near a Jewish settlement before the trio were ‘neutralised’, police said.
Police called the incident a ‘terror attack’.
The incident occurred near Maale Adumim settlement, east of Jerusalem, police said, adding the attackers had arrived in a vehicle.
‘The three terrorists… got out of their vehicle and started shooting from automatic weapons at vehicles that were standing in a traffic jam on the road towards Jerusalem,’ the force said in a statement.
One person has been killed and seven more wounded by gunmen who opened fire in the West Bank today, Israeli police have said. Pictured: Israeli emergency services lift a body sealed in a bag on a stretcher from the scene near Jerusalem, February 22
The three gunmen opened fire from automatic weapons on several vehicles near a Jewish settlement before the trio were ‘neutralised’, police said
The incident occurred near Maale Adumim settlement, east of Jerusalem, police said, adding the attackers had arrived in a vehicle
‘Two terrorists were neutralised on the spot. In the searches conducted at the scene, another terrorist was located who tried to escape and he was also neutralised.’
Eight people with varying degrees of injuries were evacuated from the scene by medics, the police said, with reports saying one had died.
Magen David Adom Ambulance service identified the victim declared dead at the scene as a man in his 20s, and listed a 23-year-old woman as being in a serious condition.
Police said the attackers took advantage of the slow morning traffic around 7.30am on the main highway east of Jerusalem and opened fire with automatic weapons at cars waiting near a checkpoint.
Pictures from the aftermath showed Israeli security forces standing around several covered bodies lying on the road, surrounded by stationary vehicles.
The attack on Thursday came after Benny Gantz, a member of Israel’s War Cabinet, said late Wednesday that new attempts are underway to reach a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas that could pause the war in Gaza.
But unless Hamas agrees to release the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza, he said, Israel will launch a ground offensive into the crowded southern city of Rafah during the upcoming Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Israel’s war in Gaza has driven some 80 per cent of the population of 2.3 million from their homes. Most heeded Israeli orders to flee south and around 1.5 million are packed into Rafah near the border with Egypt.
Israeli security forces examine the scene of a shooting attack near the West Bank settlement of Maale Adumim, Thursday, February 22, 2024
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on October 7, killing some 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostage.
About a fourth of some 130 captives still being held are believed to be dead. Israel has laid waste to much of the Palestinian territory in response.
Gaza’s Health Ministry estimates more than 29,000 Palestinians have been killed.
This is a breaking news story. More to follow…
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