Jerusalem shooting: Netanyahu visits site as death toll rises to 6, Hamas 'commends' attacks

At least six persons were on Monday killed and 12 injured in a shooting in Jerusalem that Israel has described as a terrorist attack.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the site of the shooting and announced that Israeli forces were “pursuing and encircling the villages where the terrorists came from”. The Israeli police said that both the suspected attackers were “neutralised” at the site.

Israel’s Magen David Adom (MDA) emergency service earlier confirmed five deaths, but Foreign Minister Gideon Saar later said that the death toll had risen to six.

Speaking at a press conference in Budapest, Hungary, Saar said “many are injured”, including a pregnant woman.

As per witness accounts, two men opened fire at people waiting at a bus stop at the Ramot Junction in East Jerusalem. The area is part of the Palestinian territories that Israel occupied in the Israel-Arab War of 1967 and later annexed.

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Attack at a bus stop

Initially, the MDA had initially said that 15 persons were shot at the site and five of whom died — four persons were pronounced dead at the scene and a fifth person later died at a hospital. Saar later announced that a sixth person had also died. The MDA further said that five of those injured in critical condition.

The MDA said that the information was received at 10:13 that a shooting at the Ramot Junction on Yigal Yadin Street has caused approximately 15 casualties.

The Israeli police said that suspected attackers have been neutralised.

In a statement, the police said that two attackers arrived by car at the Ramot Junction and opened fire at a bus stop.

“In response, a security officer and a civilian who were present at the scene returned fire at the attackers, who were subsequently neutralised. Several people were injured in the shooting and were evacuated for medical treatment with varying degrees of injuries,” the statement further said in Hebrew.

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Separately, The Times of Israel reported that attacks used an improvised ‘Carlo’ submachine gun that it said is commonly manufactured in illegal workshops in West Bank and has been used previously in Palestinian terrorist attacks. The gun is based on Swedish Carl Gustaf submachine guns.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said that he has been holding an assessment of the situation with the heads of the security establishment.

Hamas commends Jerusalem attack

While no group has claimed the Jerusalem shooting, Hamas has issued a statement saying “we commend” the actions of the attackers. The group called the attack a “natural response” to Israel’s military activity in Gaza.

This comes a day after Hamas accepted the US President Donald Trump’s proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza to end the war that began after the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Hamas killed over 1,200 people and took 251 other hostages in the attack. A deal for hostage release is under negotiation. The United States is facilitating indirect talks between Israel and Hamas and Qatar and Egypt are mediating.

‘Gunfire like nothing I’ve ever experienced’

A woman who witnessed the attack said that the shooting was like nothing she had ever seen before.

“Gunfire like nothing I’ve ever experienced. The bus was packed, and as soon as it pulled up to the stop, there was shooting. A suspicious man made a phone call, which several people witnessed. While he was on the phone, the terrorists arrived,” an elderly woman told N12 channel.

The woman further said that she went to the other side of the road and hid under another bus.

First responders said that many people were lying unconscious on the road when they arrived at the scene.

“When we arrived, we saw people lying unconscious on the road, on the side of the road, and on the sidewalk near a bus stop. There was a lot of destruction, shattered glass on the floor, and a lot of commotion. We began providing medical treatment to the injured, and we are currently continuing to treat the injured and transport them to hospitals,” said MDA paramedic Nadav Taib, as per The Jerusalem Post.

Another paramedic, Shlomi Levy, said that they treated a woman around 70-year-old with penetrating injuries to her upper body.

“With the help of MDA first responders who reached the scene quickly, she was evacuated by an MDA mobile intensive care unit to the hospital in serious condition. After the evacuation, I continued treating a woman in her 40s. She was conscious and had gunshot wounds to her upper body. We provided life-saving care and evacuated her to the hospital, where she was listed in stable condition,” Levy further said.