Seven people have been killed in a shooting and knife attack in Tel Aviv, police confirm
Seven people have been killed in a shooting and knife attack in Tel Aviv, police in Israel have confirmed.
Several others were injured – some seriously – when a gunman opened fire at members of the public in the Jaffa area.
“The deadly attack began in a rail carriage and continued on the platform,” local police said in a statement.
Footage posted on social media showed motionless bodies strewn on the street.
Police said the gunman and another attacker armed with a knife were “neutralised” by members of the public, and described the motive as “terror”.
The identities of the perpetrators have not been released. Some Israeli media outlets earlier reported the death toll as eight, though it is unclear if this included the attackers.
The shooting occurred shortly before an Iranian missile attack against Israel began.
Police at the scene were seen taking cover as missiles and air defence rockets flew over the city and air raid sirens blared.
“People were on the ground and they told me to bend down,” Benjamin Ratzon, who witnessed the shooting, told Reuters news agency. “I saw the terrorist facing me. He wanted to do something and the security forces arrived to the scene and they ran towards him.”
Another witness told the Jerusalem Post that initially mistook the gunfire for fireworks before realising “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,” he said.
A shop owner reportedly quickly closed their shutters upon seeing “crowds of people running and shouting ‘terror attack’.”
Haartez quoted an eyewitayer who was at a synagogue during the attack.
“Among the worshippers were medics who volunteer at MDA (Israel’s ambulance service). We treated a man who was wounded in the synagogue and then ran to the street to help others who were wounded,” he said.
