Six killed in Tel Aviv train station shooting

Six people were killed and nine wounded in a terror attack in a Tel Aviv suburb on Tuesday evening.

Two terrorists, who were identified as Muhammad Chalaf Sahar Rajab and Hassan Muhammad Hassan Tamimi from Hebron in the West Bank, went on a “killing spree”, according to police, opening fire at people waiting for the light rail in Jaffa.

They were both shot dead by security personnel and citizens using personal firearms.

“It seems the terrorist’s weapon malfunctioned during the shooting,” said Hanan Peretz, a security guard who responded to the incident.

Mr Peretz also praised the actions of his colleagues. “They identified the gunman, took cover without hesitation, and fired at him.”

Five of the wounded remained in serious condition, including a child.

Footage filmed from a balcony on a nearby building showed bodies lying on the ground at the station while gunshots could be heard in the background.

Dozens of police and counter-terrorist forces arrived at the scene to secure the area and look for other terrorists.

Medical volunteer Rom Ella said a passerby “told us that there were also injured people on nearby streets, and additional medics were there and continued to other scenes”.

“Some of the injured people we treated were unconscious,” Mr Ella said, adding that the medics operated on four streets.

Surveillance footage showed the two armed terrorists roaming the area in what appeared to be during the attack.

“I saw a terrorist shoot a girl who was on the floor and another girl, then I saw the terrorist shoot a man on a bicycle who fell to the floor, but I don’t think he was hurt. At that moment, a civilian arrived with a gun and shot the terrorist,” an eyewitness told Haaretz Daily.

“We were on the light rail when we suddenly heard gunfire from outside,” another witness told the Jerusalem Post.

“At first, we thought it was fireworks, but then we realized it was something much worse. There were many gunshots. We dropped to the floor, and people were crying. I saw someone bleeding on the ground.”

Police initially believed the shooting attack was criminal as the area’s crime rate is high. But after hearing shouts of “Allah Akbar”, they arrived at the scene, according to the Jerusalem Post.

Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s national security minister, and police commissioner Kobi Shabtai arrived at the scene along with Haim Sargrof, Tel Aviv’s district commander.

“This is a difficult incident,” Sargrof said. “At around 7pm, we received a report that two terrorists had boarded the light rail and opened fire.

“They injured four people, then exited the train and continued shooting at civilians on the street.

“A light rail security guard, two officers from the municipal Sela Unit, and police officers shot at the terrorists and neutralized both of them.

“We know their origin and are conducting further checks with the Shin Bet. They are not Israeli citizens,” he stated.

Police officers and an Israel Defence Forces counterterrorism unit later conducted searches in the area, which included a raid on a mosque that the attackers reportedly emerged from before the rampage. Several people were detained on suspicion of involvement in the attack, according to Israeli media.

Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s finance minister, said he would demand that the terrorists’ family members be deported “to Gaza tonight” at Tuesday’s cabinet meeting and that their homes be demolished. “Without the High Court of Justice and without B’Tselem,” he added.

The attack happened shortly before Iran fired some 180 ballistic missiles at Israel, setting off sirens across the whole country, including the area where the terror attack took place.

The shooting was the first Palestinian terrorist incident in Tel Aviv since August 18, when Hamas claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing that injured one 33-year-old bystander and killed the perpetrator.

Hamas warned at the time that suicide attacks would “return to the forefront” if Israel continued what it called “massacres” of Palestinians.