Editor’s note: Warning, graphic descriptions and images
Two unidentified terrorists stalked victims at a train station in the central Israeli city of Jaffa south of Tel Aviv, killing six people on Tuesday evening, several media outlets are reporting.
The attack came a day before Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. At least seven others were wounded in the shooting.
Both terrorists, one carrying an assault rifle and the other armed with a knife, were killed by police and a light rail guard.
Chilling phone video, which appears to have been taken by a bystander, shows the terrorists dressed in black, prowling along a light rail station platform shooting and stabbing victims.
The rampage began while the two suspects were on a train, Four passengers were shot and killed before the suspects exited the train and the murder spree continued on the station platform.
Israel’s MDA ambulance service said it received a report at 7.01 p.m. of people injured by gunfire on Yerushalayim Street near Erlich Station, reports the Daily Mail.
Security forces responded and arrived to find the shooting in progress along with shouts of ‘Allah Akbar’.
Medics provided medical treatment to several wounded people in varying conditions, the MDA said. That included two unconscious people in critical condition, two in serious condition, two in moderate condition and one with minor injuries.
The attack unfolded moments before a large barrage of rockets fired by Iran lit up the sky and smashed into Tel Aviv buildings.
“Currently, there are no reports of injuries from the fire towards Israel, other than minor injuries from shrapnel or falls on the way to safe areas,” the MDA said.
The Israel Defence Forces has since told Israeli citizens can leave their protective areas, as the airstrikes are believed to be over.
Iran said the missile attack was in retaliation for Israel killing Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah last week, the death of the head of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Abbas Nilfroshan.
This chain of events occurred against the backdrop of war, a day after Israeli forces launched a ground invasion of southern Lebanon aimed at crippling Iran-backed Hezbollah.
The White House had previously warned any attack by Iran would carry “severe consequences.”
“We are actively supporting defensive preparations to defend Israel against this attack. A direct military attack from Iran against Israel will carry severe consequences for Iran,” a senior administration official told Daily Mail earlier Tuesday.
With the one-year anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel coming up, the country is on high alert both defensively and offensively.
Meanwhile, Iran has warned that the missile strikes were only the first wave of attacks by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
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