Two Palestinian gunmen opened fire at a crowded bus stop on the outskirts of Jerusalem on Monday, killing six people and wounding at least 11 others in one of the city’s deadliest attacks in recent years, Israeli officials said.
The shooting occurred at Ramot Junction, a busy intersection in northern Jerusalem. Dashboard camera footage captured the chaos as gunfire erupted, sending commuters fleeing in panic. A separate video showed shattered bus windows riddled with bullet holes.
“Suddenly I hear the shots starting … I felt like I was running for an eternity,” said Ester Lugasi, who was injured in the attack. Speaking from her hospital bed, she told Israeli television, “I thought I was going to die.”
Israel’s ambulance service identified five of the victims as a man and a woman in their 50s and three men in their 30s. Later in the day, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar confirmed a sixth fatality. Among the wounded, six remain in critical condition.
Israeli police said two assailants drove to the bus stop, opened fire with rifles, and carried additional weapons and a knife, which were recovered at the scene. Both attackers were Palestinians from the Israeli-occupied West Bank, police said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the site and vowed a swift response, saying security forces were pursuing anyone suspected of helping the attackers. The Israeli military deployed soldiers to assist police in Jerusalem and launched operations in parts of Ramallah in the West Bank to track down possible accomplices.
Militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad praised the shooting, calling it an act of “resistance,” though neither claimed direct responsibility.
The attack follows a series of deadly incidents in Israel over the past two years. In October 2024, two Palestinians killed seven people in Tel Aviv, while in November 2023, gunmen linked to Hamas shot dead three people at a Jerusalem bus stop.
The latest assault underscores the heightened tensions across Israel and the West Bank, with security services bracing for further violence as they expand counterterrorism operations.
