Jerusalem Attack Leaves Three Dead After Gunmen Open Fire at Bus Stop

Gunmen opened fire on people waiting for buses in Jerusalem on Thursday morning, killing at least three people and wounding several others, according to police.

The two gunmen armed with a handgun and an M16 rifle gunmen opened fire on people waiting for buses along a main highway entering Jerusalem, The Associated Press reported, citing Israeli police.

Security camera footage of the attack that was posted on social media shows a white car stopped beside a crowded bus stop. Two people are seen stepping out of the vehicle, guns drawn, and running toward the crowd as people scatter.

Israeli police said both gunmen were killed at the scene by two off-duty Israeli soldiers and a civilian who were nearby, ABC News reported.

The attackers were identified as brothers from a Palestinian neighborhood in annexed east Jerusalem.

Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, said the brothers were members of its armed wing, and called the attack "a natural response" to Israel's actions in Gaza and elsewhere. It was not clear if the attack had been ordered by Hamas' leaders.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the gunmen "terrorists" and said his government would continue its policy of easing regulations for issuing gun licenses to private citizens.

"The quick reaction of two fighters and a civilian who eliminated the terrorists prevented an even more serious attack. I salute them," Netanyahu wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

"The government headed by me will continue expanding the distribution of weapons to citizens. This is a measure that proves itself time and time again in the war against murderous terrorism."

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was in Tel Aviv on Thursday, said it was a reminder "of the threat from terrorism that Israel and Israelis face every single day."

"My heart goes out to the victims of this attack," Blinken said. "We're thinking of them; we're thinking of their families, their loved ones. And we mourn their loss just as we mourn the loss of any innocent life."

Thursday's attack came as Israel and Hamas struck a last-minute agreement to extend a six-day truce in Gaza by one more day to allow negotiators to keep working on deals to swap hostages held in the territory for Palestinian prisoners.

International pressure has mounted for the pause in fighting to continue as long as possible following nearly eight weeks of Israeli airstrikes and a ground campaign in Gaza after Hamas' deadly October 7 attack on Israel.

More than 13,300 Palestinians have been killed since the war began, the AP reported, citing the Health Ministry in Gaza. But the death toll is likely much higher, the AP noted, as officials have only sporadically updated the count since November 11 and thousands more are feared dead under the rubble. About 1,200 people have been killed in Israel, most of them during the initial incursion by Hamas, the AP said.

Update 11/30/23, 7:04 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.