Jerusalem, Sept 8: Palestinian attackers opened fire at a bus stop at a busy intersection in north Jerusalem on Monday, killing six people and injuring another 12, according to Israeli police, emergency rescue services and local hospitals.
Police said the attackers shot people waiting at a bus stop.
An Israeli soldier and a civilian who were at the scene shot and killed the attackers, police said.
The war in Gaza has sparked a surge of violence in both the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Israel. Palestinian militants have attacked and killed Israelis in Israel and the West Bank, while there has also been a rise in settler violence against Palestinians.
Monday’s shooting took place at a major intersection at the northern entrance to Jerusalem, on a road that leads to Jewish settlements located 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.
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.
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.
Hamas hailed the attack without claiming responsibility, calling it a “natural response to the occupation’s crimes against our people.”
Monday’s shooting was the deadliest attack since a mass shooting in October 2024, when two Palestinians from the West Bank opened fire inside a light rail train in Tel Aviv, killing seven people and leaving many others wounded. Hamas’ military wing claimed responsibility for that attack.
Data from the UN’s humanitarian office says at least 49 Israelis were killed by Palestinians in Israel or the West Bank between the start of the war and July 2025.
During the same period, Israeli forces and civilians killed at least 968 Palestinians in Israel and the West Bank. (AP)
