At least 6 killed in shooting attack in Jaffa as Iran strikes Israel

At least 6 people were killed in a shooting attack in Jaffa, one of the deadliest terror attacks in Israel since Oct. 7, 2023.

The attack, which also wounded several people, occurred at an extremely volatile time in Israel, amid a barrage of missiles fired from Iran in response to Israel’s ground incursion into Lebanon this week. Residents in the area of the shooting were told to seek shelter at around the same time as rocket sirens went off across the country, warning Israelis of the Iranian attack.

The two gunmen in the terror attack in Jaffa, adjacent to Tel Aviv, descended on Tuesday night from the city’s light rail on the main drag of Jerusalem Boulevard, Kan, the public broadcaster, reported.

They opened fire on passengers and on people near the light rail station, the radio reported. Video and photos on social media showed the gunmen descending from a train car, a man running and the sound of gunfire.

Both of the terrorists also appear to have been killed.

The shooting is the latest of a string of terror attacks to happen in Israel since Oct. 7, both in the heavily populated central region and in more sparsely populated areas. The deadliest attack on Israeli territory since Oct. 7 came when a Hezbollah missile killed 12 youths in the Golan Heights city of Majdal Shams in July.

Israel is on high alert the day before Rosh Hashanah and less than a week before the anniversary of the war launched last year by Hamas. Israel has been fighting since Oct. 7 in Gaza and recently escalated its offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon, which has also been firing missiles at Israel since Oct. 8, driving tens of thousands from their homes.

Hezbollah is an Iranian proxy, and a response from Iran had been expected after Israel destroyed much of the terror group’s infrastructure and weapons depots, and assassinated its longtime leader, Hassan Nasrallah.