Three Israelis Dead, 13 Injured in Jerusalem Shooting after Cease-Fire Extended Another Day By David Zimmermann
Just after Israel and Hamas agreed to extend the existing cease-fire by another day, two Hamas terrorists opened fire at a bus stop near Jerusalem, leaving at least three Israelis dead and 13 injured.
Israeli police received reports of the shooting around 7:40 a.m. local time Thursday when two individuals pulled up in a car armed with weapons and shot several civilians standing by a busy bus station. The gunmen were killed by Israeli security forces at the scene, according to authorities.
Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack later Thursday, saying it was carried out in response to Israeli soldiers killing two Palestinian children in the West Bank the day prior.
“As we mourn our martyrs, we confirm that this operation came as a natural response to the unprecedented occupation crimes” of Israel, the terrorist organization said in a statement, identifying brothers Murad and Ibrahim al-Nimr as the deceased perpetrators.
The mass shooting came shortly after the cease-fire in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war was extended by another 24 hours ahead of the 7 a.m. deadline, allowing Hamas to release more hostages in exchange for Israel freeing its Palestinian prisoners and providing humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. Unless another cease-fire extension is agreed upon, both warring sides will resume fighting by Friday.
In response to the attack, Israel will continue distributing weapons to its citizens residing in the West Bank to pursue Hamas militants in “Jerusalem, Gaza, Judea, and Samaria — everywhere,” said Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. After privately meeting with U.S. secretary of state Antony Blinken, Netanyahu told reporters that he said to Blinken that “nothing will stop us” from eliminating Hamas in Gaza.
Another attack on Thursday involved a vehicle ramming into a checkpoint of the Israel Defense Forces, located in the Jordan Valley area of the West Bank. Two IDF soldiers were injured as a result, and the unidentified attackers were “neutralized,” according to the Israeli military, which was searching for additional suspects in the area at the time.
After six days of the mutual cease-fire, approximately 143 of the estimated 240 hostages who were initially abducted in Israel on October 7 remain in Hamas’s custody. Of those left, 132 are Israeli citizens. A total of 104 Israelis and foreigners have been released thus far, five of whom returned home before the fighting pause was made last week.
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