A truck driver shot lifeless three Israeli guards at a border crossing between the occupied West Bank and Jordan Sunday earlier than being “eliminated”, Israel‘s navy mentioned, because it pounded Gaza with new strikes.
The uncommon assault on the Allenby Bridge crossing comes amid hovering violence within the West Bank with main Israeli raids and assaults by Palestinians, and towards the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas Gaza battle, now in its twelfth month.
The navy mentioned “a terrorist” reached the crossing space, also referred to as the King Hussein Bridge, in a truck “from Jordan”.
The driver “exited the truck and opened fire at Israeli security forces operating at the bridge”, a navy assertion mentioned.
“Three Israeli guards were pronounced dead as a result of the attack,” it mentioned, clarifying to AFP that they have been “security guards” and never within the military or police.
The attacker was shot lifeless, the navy added, with out offering his identification.
Hamas praised the assault however didn’t declare duty for it, including it “affirms the Arabs’ rejection of the (Israeli) occupation, its crimes, and its ambitions in Palestine and Jordan”.
Jordan’s inside ministry mentioned authorities have been “investigating the incident”.
The crossing, within the Jordan Valley, is the one worldwide gateway for Palestinians from the West Bank that doesn’t require getting into Israel, which has occupied the territory since 1967.
– Bloodshed rises in West Bank –
Violence within the West Bank has surged alongside the battle in Gaza which started after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7.
Israel’s navy on August 28 launched simultaneous raids throughout a number of cities and refugee camps within the northern West Bank, killing no less than 36 Palestinians, based on the Ramallah-based Palestinian well being ministry.
Since October 7, Israeli troops or settlers have killed no less than 662 Palestinians within the West Bank, based on the Palestinian well being ministry.
At least 23 Israelis, together with members of the safety forces, have been killed in Palestinian assaults throughout the identical interval, Israeli officers say.
The Hamas assault on Israel resulted within the deaths of 1,205 folks, largely civilians together with some hostages killed in captivity, official Israeli figures present.
Hamas-led resistance teams seized 251 hostages through the assault, 97 of whom are nonetheless held in Gaza, together with 33 the Israeli navy says are lifeless.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza has to date killed no less than 40,972 folks, based on the well being ministry within the blockaded territory.
The UN human rights workplace says a lot of the lifeless are ladies and youngsters.
On Sunday, Israel pounded Gaza with air strikes and shelling as prospects remained dim for a ceasefire.
Gaza’s civil defence company mentioned practically a dozen folks have been killed in Israeli air strikes on Sunday, together with 5 in Jabalia refugee camp.
The Israeli navy mentioned it had struck round “25 Hamas targets” throughout Gaza over the previous day.
– No respite for Gazans –
There has been no respite for the two.4 million Palestinians residing in Gaza, nearly all of whom have been displaced no less than as soon as.
“Moving from one area to another is distressing because there is no safe place in Gaza,” mentioned Raeed Hamad, 51, a most cancers affected person from the southern metropolis of Khan Yunis.
“We are displaced under heavy bombardments… I have lost weight and I’m exhausted.”
Defence Minister Yoav Gallant toured the Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza on Sunday, the place he vowed once more to get rid of Hamas.
But he mentioned the navy was specializing in the northern entrance additionally, the place Lebanese resistance group Hezbollah and Israel forces traded fireplace on Sunday.
“While you are fighting here in Gaza, we are preparing for anything that may happen in the north,” Gallant instructed troopers, based on an announcement issued by his workplace.
“The shift of the centre of gravity can happen quickly and can also involve you in a short period of time.”
Hamas is demanding an entire Israeli withdrawal from Gaza as a part of a ceasefire deal, however Israel insists troops should stay alongside the Gaza-Egypt border.
The United States, Qatar and Egypt have all been mediating in efforts to forge a ceasefire.
Israeli protesters numbering within the tens of hundreds have mounted stress on the federal government, demanding a deal that may imply the discharge of hostages.
Late Saturday, mass protests have been once more held in Tel Aviv and another cities. Organisers mentioned greater than 500,000 folks took half.
Anger and grief spiked throughout Israel after the navy recovered our bodies of six hostages from a Gaza tunnel final month.
“We must demand that no one forgets the hostages, no one ignores them, no one leaves them to die,” mentioned Andrey Kozlov, one of many scores of hostages freed through the one-week truce in November.
“Their time is running out. We see it, we feel it. Bring them back home now.”
International stress to finish the battle has additionally intensified after Friday’s deadly taking pictures within the West Bank of Turkish-American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, who was demonstrating towards Israeli settlements within the territory.
Her household, Türkiye and the UN rights workplace all mentioned Israeli forces killed her. Israel’s navy mentioned the incident is beneath assessment.
Source: www.anews.com.tr