‘Our forces are encircling the areas’: Netanyahu vows a swift response as two ‘neutralized’ attackers kill six in Jerusalem

Palestinian attackers have killed at least six people and injured more than a dozen others in a shooting attack on a Jerusalem bus and bus stop. The two attackers were “neutralized” by a nearby security officer and an armed civilian soon after the shooting began, according to police. The attack unfolded at a busy intersection in northern Jerusalem, on a road leading to Jewish settlements in east Jerusalem.

According to Fox News, the gunmen boarded a bus and opened fire on passengers. Paramedics described the scene as chaotic, with people wounded and lying unconscious on the road and sidewalk.

Following the attack, Hamas released a statement praising the “resistance fighters” who carried it out, but they did not explicitly claim credit for the shooting, which makes sense because they recently received a warning about the war.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad, another terrorist organization, also praised the attack but likewise did not claim responsibility. This deadly attack is the latest in a surge of violence that has been tied to the ongoing war in Gaza, which is approaching its two-year mark since the October 7 massacre. This new surge of violence is now hitting both the West Bank and Israel.

Attack on Jerusalem bus leaves many dead

According to Israeli officials, the two attackers arrived at the scene by car and began shooting at the bus stop. The quick actions of a security officer and an armed civilian prevented what could have been an even deadlier attack by shooting and killing the two attackers.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed that the shooters came from the West Bank and that he is holding a “situation assessment” with security officials. Netanyahu has vowed a swift response, stating, “Our forces are encircling the areas in the West Bank from which attackers came from.”

The ambulance service identified five of the dead victims: a 50-year-old man, a woman in her 50s, and three men in their 30s. The identity of the sixth victim is currently unknown. More than a dozen people were injured, including five people who are in serious condition with gunshot wounds. The attack at the Ramot Junction, where the bus stop is located, is a grim reminder of the high tensions in the region, and many have died since this war began.