‘The world must understand what we are up against’: six killed in Jerusalem shooting attack

Six people were killed and 12 wounded, six of them seriously, when two Palestinian gunmen opened fire at vehicles and pedestrians at Jerusalem’s Ramot Junction on Monday morning.

The attackers, reported to be from villages near Ramallah, arrived at the junction shortly after 10 a.m., targeting people waiting at a bus stop and passengers on a just-arrived bus.

Police said the attackers were shot dead by a soldier and several civilians at the scene. The soldier, off duty at the time, was a squad commander in Israel’s Hasmonean Brigade, a unit for Haredi Orthodox troops. Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel’s emergency medical service, said four victims were declared dead at the scene, while two others succumbed to injuries after being rushed to hospital. Six people remained in serious condition, two were moderately wounded, and three sustained minor injuries.

Dashcam footage circulated online showing terrified pedestrians scrambling as gunfire erupted. In one clip, a taxi driver calmly helped an elderly passenger to safety as a bullet shattered a bus windshield nearby.

The names of four of the six victims were released: Yaakov Pinto, 25, an immigrant from Spain who had recently married; Rabbi Levi Yitzhak Pash, a maintenance worker at a Jerusalem yeshiva; Rabbi Israel Mentzer, 28; and Yosef David, 43, both residents of Ramot where the attack occurred. Additional victims included Rabbi Mordechai Steintzag, 79, a former U.S. doctor who founded a bakery in Beit Shemesh, and Sarah Mendelson, 60, a youth movement worker who lived in the capital.

According to authorities, the attackers set out from the Palestinian villages of Al-Qubeiba and Qatanna, west of Jerusalem. The gunmen used improvised “Carlo” submachine guns, small arms commonly manufactured in illegal Palestinian workshops. Police recovered the firearms, ammunition, and a knife. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said troops were deployed to encircle the villages and search for potential accomplices.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the site alongside National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. Netanyahu offered condolences to the victims’ families and called the attack part of “a mighty war against terror taking place on all fronts.” He added, “Security forces have thwarted hundreds of attacks this year, but unfortunately, not this morning.”

President Isaac Herzog condemned the attack, saying: “This shocking attack reminds us once again that we are fighting absolute evil. The world must understand what we are up against, and that terror will never defeat us.”

Netanyahu had been scheduled to testify in his criminal trial on Monday but was excused due to the attack. He subsequently held a security assessment with the heads of Israel’s security establishment.

Eight victims of yesterday’s shooting attack in Jerusalem remain hospitalised this morning (Tue).

The Shaare Zedek Medical Centre reported two women in intensive care, sedated and on ventilators, in serious but stable condition, while four additional women underwent surgery overnight for moderate injuries.

Of the four victims being treated at the Hadassah-Mount Scopus Hospital, one with a gunshot wound is in moderate condition and three are in mild condition.

The Hadassah-Ein Kerem Hospital is caring for four others, including one with a moderate gunshot injury.

Meanwhile, more than 30 people suffering from anxiety have sought help at a temporary mental health centre at Shaare Zedek, which will remain open in the coming days.

Hamas did not claim responsibility but called on Palestinians in Judea and Samaria to “escalate the confrontation with the occupation and its settlers.”