March 29 (UPI) — Five people were killed in a Tel Aviv suburb during a shooting attack Tuesday night, according to police.
A police officer was among those killed. The remaining four were civilians, authorities said.
The Palestinian gunman was shot dead by police in the ultra-Orthodox Bnei Brak neighborhood, on the eastern edge of the city.
Four victims died at the scene, while a fifth was later pronounced dead in the hospital, according to a paramedic. The police officer who died was attempting to stop the attack.
“Israel is facing a wave of murderous Arab terrorism,” Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said afterward. “The security forces are at work. We will fight terrorism with persistence, diligence and an iron fist.”
Israeli police identified the shooter as Diaa Hamarsheh, a Palestinian man from the West Bank, who was in the country illegally.
He initially killed three people at one location before running to a second spot and shooting two others, including the police officer, officials said.
Police are still searching for other possible suspects.
This incident comes after two Israeli police officers were fatally shot in a terrorist attack committed by the Islamic State in northern Israel on Sunday night.
Tuesday’s shooting marks the fifth attack in Israel in less than two weeks, during which 11 people have been killed by militants.
Police have boosted their presence in areas thought to be at risk of violence.
The Israel Defense Forces has also deployed troops in the West Bank as the government fears an escalation in violence with the start of Ramadan, which begins Friday.
The Palestinian Authority issued a statement to Israeli media Tuesday night, condemning the attack.
“The killing of Israeli and Palestinian civilians will only lead to a deterioration of the situation ahead of Ramadan,” Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said.
“We are trying to obtain some stability.”
