Five people lost their lives in a shooting that took place in the Israeli city of Bnei Brak on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the ZAKA rescue service has confirmed.
In the third incident of its kind within a week, a man opened fire on passers-by on one street in the city of Bnei Brak near Tel Aviv, before moving on to another. The assailant was subsequently shot by police.
According to Israeli media reports, the perpetrator was a Palestinian from the occupied West Bank. The mayor of Bnei Brak called on residents to remain indoors.
Numerous ambulances and police officers attended the scene of the attack. A ZAKA ambulance worker who lived in the immediate vicinity said that the sight at the scene had been "shocking."
"I saw four dead people on the street," he said, adding that he had treated a man with gunshot wounds.
Israeli opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted on Tuesday that it was "a sad and difficult evening," and that Israel was "at the height of a dangerous wave of terror, the likes of which we have not seen in years." He called for decisive action "to bring peace and security back to the citizens of Israel."
The shooting brings the number of Israelis killed in attacks within a week to at least 11.
Attack in Hadera
On Sunday, two police officers and two gunmen were killed in an attack in the coastal city of Hadera, while four people were also killed in a terrorist bombing in the city of Beersheva in southern Israel last week. The bomber, a Bedouin from the Negev desert, was shot dead by a passer-by.
Attacks by Palestinians in the West Bank and the Arab-dominated eastern part of Jerusalem have increased in recent months. Several Palestinians have also been killed in Israeli raids.
There are fears of a further escalation during Ramadan.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett was due to hold security talks with Defence Minister Benny Gantz and representatives of the country's military and police on Tuesday evening.
Israel conquered the West Bank and East Jerusalem, among other territories, in the 1967 Six-Day War. The Palestinians claim the territories as part of a future Palestinian state, and East Jerusalem as its capital.
