Jerusalem: Four Israelis were killed and four others injured in a shooting attack at a gas station near a Jewish settlement in West Bank.
Two Palestinian men armed with M16 rifles arrived by car at the gas station adjacent to the settlement of Eli and opened fire on civilians who were sitting at a restaurant there, the Israeli military said on Tuesday.
According to the army’s report, one of the gunmen was shot and killed by an armed civilian at the scene, and the other fled in a stolen car, prompting a manhunt. Blockages have been set up in the area as part of the pursuit.
The killed gunman was identified as Muhand Shada, a 25-year-old resident of the village of Urif near the West Bank city of Nablus and a member of Hamas, the ruling Islamist movement of the Palestinian enclave Gaza Strip, Israel’s state-owned Kan TV news reported
The Homefront Command issued a statement requiring the residents of Eli to stay indoors and lock doors and windows, Xinhua news agency reported.
"No exits allowed until the conclusion of the event (the manhunt). Driving in and out of the area is forbidden until further notice," it said.
Magen David Adom rescue service of Israel said in a statement that four deaths were declared at the scene, while the four injured, one with critical injuries, two moderate, and the other slight, needed hospital care.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant's office said in a statement "an operational situation assessment" meeting will be convened in the evening with the Army Chief-of-Staff, the director of the Shin Bet internal security service, and additional senior officials. The meeting will take place amid growing calls in the far-right government for launching a large-scale military campaign in the West Bank.
The attack came a day after Israeli forces, supported by a rare use of attack helicopters, killed six Palestinians, including a 15-year-old teenager, and injured at least 90 others, in an hour-long gunbattle in a refugee camp in Jenin in the northern West Bank.
With inputs from IANS