A shooting attack near a settlement in the occupied West Bank has claimed the lives of four Israelis, according to paramedics. Two Palestinian gunmen opened fire at a petrol station and restaurant along a highway outside Eli, leaving four people dead and four others wounded, one of them seriously.
The Israeli military reported that one of the gunmen was shot dead by an armed civilian at the scene, while the second assailant fled after allegedly stealing a vehicle. However, Israeli security forces later located and killed the second gunman in the town of Tubas.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant condemned the attack as an act of terrorism. The incident follows a recent surge in violence across the West Bank.
During the attack, the two gunmen arrived in a car and targeted individuals at the petrol station and a nearby hummus restaurant. Paramedic Motty Dahan from the Magen David Adom (MDA) ambulance service described the scene as complex, with seven victims suffering gunshot wounds. Three of the wounded were evacuated to hospitals by MDA Mobile Intensive Care Units, while unfortunately, four victims were pronounced dead at the scene.
This incident marks the highest number of Israeli casualties since a Palestinian carried out an attack outside a synagogue in occupied East Jerusalem in January, resulting in the deaths of seven individuals.
The shooting comes just a day after Israeli forces conducted a raid in the northern West Bank city of Jenin, resulting in the deaths of six Palestinians, including a teenage boy, and injuring over 90 others. Several Israeli soldiers were also wounded in the operation. Overnight, another Palestinian man was killed by Israeli army fire near Bethlehem in the southern West Bank.
Since the beginning of the year, Israeli forces or settlers have killed over 160 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. The casualties include both militants and civilians. On the Israeli side, 27 people, including civilians, two foreigners, and a Palestinian worker, have been killed in attacks or apparent attacks by Palestinians. Among them were a serving off-duty soldier and a member of the Israeli security forces.