Seven reported to be dead after Israel gun attack
A bus is one of several vehicles attacked by gunmen in southern Israel close to the state’s border with Egypt. Hamas has denied responsibility.
At least seven people are believed to be dead and 25 are thought to be injured after gunmen attacked vehicles travelling in southern Israel.
The incident – one of the most deadly attacks in Israel since 2008 – is reported to have taken place on Israel’s Highway 12, a desert road some 18 miles from the Red Sea resort of Eilat.
It is believed that the attack started when a gunmen ambushed a bus wounding several passengers, Israel’s military said. A civilian car travelling near by was also hit.
The military added in a statement: “Terrorists fired at a bus on its way to Eilat and fired an anti-tank rocket at another vehicle.
At the same time, a military patrol hit an explosive device.
Paramedics were called to the scene and injured passengers were transported to a hospital in Eilat.
Porous border
The Magen David Adom ambulance service said six people were killed along the road, just meters from the porous border with Egypt.
The military put the number of wounded at around 25.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement: “This was a grave incident in which Israelis and Israeli sovereignty were harmed. Israel will respond accordingly.”
A senior Israeli official said the gunmen, unable to cross into Israel through the heavily patrolled border with the Gaza Strip, had gone into the Sinai and then infiltrated from there into southern Israel.
He requested that people stay away from the road between Eilat and Ovda.
Hamas in Gaza denied responsibility and said it would fight back if it came under Israeli attack.
“We will not stand handcuffed and we will spearhead resistance to the occupation,” said senior official Salah Al-Bardaweel.
The IDF has announced that the Kerem Shalom Crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip has been closed following the attacks.
Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak held meeting to assess the situation with senior IDF officers and other security officials at the Kirya in Tel Aviv.
Mr Barak is receiving updated reports and is closely monitoring the situation.
“It was a grave terrorist incident that took place in several locations,”Mr Barak said in a statement. “It reflects the weakening of Egypt’s hold in the Sinai and the broadening of activities by terror elements.”
Air strike
Later in the afternoon an Israeli air strike killed the chief of an armed Palestinian faction and four other members in the southern Gaza town of Rafah, the group said.
The Popular Resistance Committees, a faction that often operates independently from Gaza’s Hamas rulers, identified their dead commander as Kamal al-Nairab.
An Israeli military source confirmed an air strike had taken place in Rafah town.