Jerusalem: Palestinian attackers opened fire at a bus stop in north Jerusalem on Monday, killing six and injuring 12, Israeli police said. An Israeli soldier and a civilian on site shot and killed the attackers.
The attack comes amid rising violence linked to the Gaza war, with Palestinian militants targeting Israelis in Israel and the West Bank, while settler attacks on Palestinians have also increased.
Monday’s shooting occurred at a major intersection leading to Jewish settlements in east Jerusalem.
Footage of the attack showed dozens of people fleeing from a bus stop at the busy intersection during the morning rush hour. A bus, its windshield riddled with bullets, idled at a bus stop, with belongings scattered across the street.
Paramedics who responded to the scene said the area was chaotic and covered in broken glass, with people wounded and lying unconscious on the road and a sidewalk near the bus stop.
Hundreds of security forces arrived at the scene to search for additional attackers or explosives that could have been planted around the area. The Israeli military said it is encircling Palestinian villages on the outskirts of the nearby West Bank city of Ramallah as it steps up defence in response to the attack.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived at the scene some two hours after the shooting. Netanyahu was supposed to be in court on Monday for his ongoing corruption trial, which was delayed due to the security situation. He warned that Israel is “fighting a war on multiple fronts,” including Gaza, the West Bank, and Israel.
Netanyahu also praised the soldier who killed the attacker, who was from a newly-formed unit for ultra-Orthodox soldiers.
In a post on X, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for dismantling the Palestinian Authority, saying it “raises and educates its children to murder Jews” and that the villages of the attackers “should look like Rafah and Beit Hanoun.”
Hamas hailed the attack without claiming responsibility, calling it a “natural response to the occupation’s crimes against our people.”
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Presidency condemned all violence against civilians, stressing that lasting peace requires ending the occupation and ensuring Palestinian sovereignty with East Jerusalem as the capital.
Monday’s shooting was the deadliest attack since October 2024, when a Tel Aviv light rail shooting killed seven. UN data shows 49 Israelis and 968 Palestinians have been killed since the Gaza war began.
With inputs from Associated Press
Editor’s note: The article has been revised to reflect the latest casualty figures, raising the death toll from five to six.
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