Two Palestinian gunmen opened fire at a bus stop on the outskirts of Jerusalem on Monday, killing six people in what police called a terrorist attack, among the city’s deadliest in recent years.
Dashcam video showed commuters running for cover as shots rang out beside a halted bus. Another clip showed the bus with its windscreen and side windows riddled with bullet holes. “Suddenly I hear the shots starting… I felt like I was running for an eternity,” said Ester Lugasi, speaking from hospital. “I thought I was going to die.”
The Magen David Adom ambulance service initially identified five victims—a man and a woman in their fifties and three men in their thirties—and said 11 others were injured, six seriously. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar later said a sixth person had died. He said the attackers were Palestinians from the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas issued a statement condemning any targeting of Palestinian and Israeli civilians. Hamas praised what it called two “resistance fighters,” and Islamic Jihad also praised the shooting. Neither group claimed responsibility.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, visiting the scene, said security forces were pursuing suspects believed to have assisted the gunmen. Police said two attackers arrived by car and opened fire at Ramot Junction, an area straddling territory Israel captured in the 1967 war and later annexed—a move not recognised by the United Nations and most countries. Officers recovered firearms, ammunition and a knife at the scene.
The military said soldiers were aiding police in the search and were operating in parts of Ramallah to conduct interrogations and “thwart terrorism.” Reuters footage showed heavy police deployments in the area. First responders reported victims lying on the road and pavement, some unconscious.
The attack follows a series of deadly incidents since the Gaza war erupted last year. In November 2023, two Palestinian gunmen killed three people at a Jerusalem bus stop; Israeli authorities said the attackers were linked to Hamas. In October 2024, two Palestinians—one with a gun, the other with a knife—killed seven people in Tel Aviv.