By A shooting attack at the border crossing between the West Bank and Jordan on Sunday left three Israeli civilians dead, Israeli officials reported. The incident, which appears to be linked to the ongoing 11-month war in Gaza, occurred at the Allenby Bridge Crossing, also known as the King Hussein Bridge.
According to the Israeli military, the gunman approached the crossing from the Jordanian side in a truck and opened fire on Israeli security forces. In the ensuing shootout, Israeli forces killed the assailant. Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service identified the victims as three men in their 50s.
The Jordanian government has initiated an investigation into the shooting, as reported by the state-run Petra News Agency. Jordan, which signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994, has been critical of Israeli policies toward Palestinians and has witnessed significant protests against the Gaza war due to its large Palestinian population.
The Allenby crossing, primarily used by Palestinians, international tourists, and for cargo shipments, has historically seen few security incidents. The last major incident occurred in 2014 when Israeli security guards shot and killed a Jordanian judge they claimed had attacked them.
In response to the attack, Israeli authorities closed the crossing and two other land border points with Jordan near Beit Shean and Eilat. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the attack, linking it to the broader conflict with Iran and its allied militant groups, including Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
This incident comes amid escalating violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank since the outbreak of the Gaza war following Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel. The region has seen an increase in Israeli military raids, settler violence, and Palestinian attacks on Israelis.
Concurrently, in Gaza, an Israeli airstrike early Sunday killed five Palestinians, including two women, two children, and a senior Civil Defense official. The strike targeted the home of Mohammed Morsi, the deputy director for north Gaza of the Civil Defense, which operates under the Hamas-run government.
The ongoing conflict has resulted in over 40,000 Palestinian deaths in Gaza, according to the Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. The war has caused widespread destruction and displaced approximately 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents.
The October 7 Hamas attack on Israel killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and resulted in the abduction of 250 individuals. Negotiations for a ceasefire and the return of remaining hostages, mediated by the United States, Qatar, and Egypt, have faced repeated setbacks.
As the conflict continues to impact both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, this latest attack at the Allenby Bridge Crossing underscores the persistent tensions and security challenges in the region.
