Palestinian gunmen open fire at Jerusalem bus stop, killing 6, Israeli officials say

JERUSALEM (AP) — Palestinian attackers opened fire on people at a bus stop at during the morning rush hour in Jerusalem on Monday, killing six people and wounding another 12, according to Israeli officials.

An Israeli soldier and civilians who were at the scene shot and killed the two attackers, said police, who later arrested a third person in connection with the shooting. Footage of the attack showed dozens of people fleeing from the bus stop at a busy intersection. The windshield of a bus was riddled with bullet holes and belongings were scattered across the street.

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The war in Gaza has sparked a surge of violence in both the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Israel. Palestinian militants have attacked and killed Israelis in Israel and the West Bank, while there has also been a rise in settler violence against Palestinians. Monday’s shooting — at a major intersection, with a road leading to Jewish settlements in east Jerusalem — was the deadliest in Israel since October 2024.

Paramedics who responded to the chaotic scene said broken glass covered the area, and people wounded lay unconscious on the road and a sidewalk near the bus stop. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar identified the attackers as Palestinian.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived at the scene some two hours after the shooting. Netanyahu was supposed to be in court on Monday for his ongoing corruption trial, which was delayed due to the attack. He warned that Israel is “fighting a war on multiple fronts,” including Gaza, the West Bank, and Israel.

Netanyahu praised the soldier who fired on the gunmen who was from a newly-formed unit for ultra-Orthodox soldiers.

Hundreds of security forces arrived at the scene to search for additional attackers or explosives that could have been planted around the area. On Monday afternoon, police said they arrested a resident of east Jerusalem who was connected to the attack.

The Israeli military said it is encircling Palestinian villages on the outskirts of the nearby West Bank city of Ramallah as it steps up defense in response.

Hamas hailed the attack without claiming responsibility, calling it a “natural response to the occupation’s crimes against our people.”

In October 2024, two Palestinians from the West Bank opened fire inside a light rail train in Tel Aviv, killing seven people and leaving many others wounded. Hamas’ military wing claimed responsibility for that attack, the deadliest in Israel since the Oct. 7, 2023, raid that started the war in Gaza.

Data from the U.N.’s humanitarian office says at least 49 Israelis, including some soldiers and police, were killed by Palestinians in Israel or the West Bank between the start of the war and July 2025.

During the same period, Israeli forces and civilians killed at least 968 Palestinians in Israel and the West Bank, according to the data. The Israeli military has said many were militants, though the dead have also included stone throwers and uninvolved civilians. ___

Associated Press writer Samy Magdy in Cairo contributed to this report.