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Shooting spree in Kochav Ya'ir
A man was killed and five others were wounded in central Israel after a man in a car opened fire at several locations, with police describing it as a suspected “terror attack”.
“At least one man has been killed and five wounded in central Israel, Israeli medics have said, in what police called a suspected “terror attack””
Israeli medics said a 35-year-old man died of gunshot wounds, while the other casualties were transferred to two hospitals and two of those injured were in serious condition.
The shooting began at a gas station at the entrance to the Kochav Yair area and continued at the entrance to the nearby towns of Tzur Yitzhak and Tzur Natan, according to the Israeli Broadcasting Authority.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said it was holding a situational assessment on the shooting attack, while Hamas commended the attack as a “heroic” operation without claiming responsibility.
Police said they killed a suspect allegedly involved in the shooting following a manhunt, and that the suspected gunman was a Palestinian with Israeli citizenship from the nearby Israeli city Tayibe.
Statements and arrests
Israeli rescue service Magen David Adom said it treated gunshot casualties after the shooting began, with Lior Zilberberg describing how he and his team stopped a training exercise and went to the gas station in Kochav Yair, Tzur Yitzhak, and Tzur Natan.
Zilberberg said, “We immediately stopped the exercise and set out with intensive care units and ambulances to the gas station in Kochav Yair, Tzur Yitzhak, and Tzur Natan,” in a statement.
Police said a second suspect was arrested after “made statements suggesting involvement in the attack,” and that he tried to attack officers.
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said “the law on the death penalty for terrorists also applies to Israeli Arabs,” adding, “But it is better that he was eliminated beforehand,” after the attacker was killed.
In the West Bank, local Palestinian sources and Palestinian official news agency Wafa reported that Israeli forces closed two checkpoints at entrances to the city of Tulkarem, and temporary checkpoints were also set up at the entrance to nearby Qalqilya.
What comes next
After the shooting, Israeli soldiers were deployed to one of the sites in central Israel and to a nearby Israeli settlement in the West Bank, as police and rescue officials continued searches for additional suspects.
Police urged the public to “be vigilant, obey the instructions of the police and report any suspicious incident or person to the police,” while Israeli forces imposed a security cordoning on several neighbouring Arab villages.
NBC News said the police described the incident as a drive-by shooting, with five others injured in shootings at three nearby locations, two of them seriously, and that the suspected gunman was also killed.
Hardline Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for a “profound change” among Israel’s Arab community, saying they are a “dangerous and extremist breeding ground for terrorism is growing that seeks to destroy the State of Israel.”
The attack also prompted local officials to link the incident to security funding needs, with Hila Hakmon telling Army Radio that “Unfortunately, the changes in the security elements over the past two years are relatively marginal,” and that “the proof is what happened today.”
