One person killed, five injured in shootings in central Israel

JERUSALEM – A 35-year-old man was killed and five others injured in a series of shootings on June 7 in central Israel near the occupied West Bank that police described as a suspected terror attack.

A police spokesperson said the suspected gunman, an Israeli Arab from the nearby Israeli city of Tayibe, was also killed and a firearm was found in his possession. Israeli media reported a second suspect was also killed.

“Large police forces remain at the scene, and searches are continuing,” the police said in an earlier statement, urging the public to remain vigilant. Local media identified the 35-year-old man as an Israeli citizen.

Israel’s ambulance service said the man died of gunshot wounds. It described the incident as a drive-by shooting, with five others wounded in shootings at three nearby locations, two of them seriously.

The police said they had located the suspected vehicle used in the incident.

The shootings took place near the Palestinian West Bank city of Qalqilya. Palestinian militant group Hamas praised the attack but did not claim responsibility.

Israeli soldiers were deployed to one of the sites in central Israel and to a nearby Israeli settlement in the West Bank after the shootings, the military said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been briefed, his office said in a statement. REUTERS