The victims of the Jerusalem shooting were taken to nearby hospitals [Picture: Ronen Zvulun/Reuters]
Palestinian group Hamas has claimed responsibility for a deadly shooting in Jerusalem. Three people were killed when two gunmen opened fire in the city.
At approximately 7:40 AM on Thursday, two assailants discharged firearms at people at a bus stop. They were met with fire from an armed civilian and two off-duty soldiers. An additional 16 people were injured.
Israeli media identified the victims as Rabbi Elimelech Wasserman, 73, Chana Ifergan, 64, and Livia Dickman, 24. The gunmen, meanwhile, were named as brothers Murad, 38, and Ibrahim Namr, 30.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday Israeli forces killed two Palestinian children during a raid in the occupied West Bank. Adam Samer al-Ghoul, 8, was shot in the head. Basil Suleiman Abu al-Wafa, 15, died after he was shot in the chest.
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Responsibility
In a statement on Thursday afternoon, Hamas said “the operation came as a natural response to unprecedented crimes conducted by the occupation”.
The group referred to apartheid Israel’s atrocities in Gaza and the maltreatment of Palestinian prisoners languishing in Israeli jails. It called for “an escalation of the resistance”.
The incident came after Hamas and Israel agreed to extend a truce at the eleventh hour. In its seventh day, the truce in Gaza has been marred by continued aggression against returning civilians and escalating terror in the Occupied West Bank.
Egyptian and Qatari negotiators are pushing for a new two-day extension. In a statement, Egypt’s State Information Service (SIS) said mediators were pushing for the release of more prisoners and an increase in the delivery of humanitarian aid.
“Egypt will continue to exert its utmost efforts to ensure the continued flow of humanitarian aid to the north and south of the Gaza Strip,” it said.
