Central Israel suspected terror attack: 3 dead, 4 injured in Elad

At least three people were killed and four others injured in an attack in the Israeli city of Elad. The incident, which is believed to be a suspected terror attack, occurred towards the end of the country’s Independence Day.

Two of the victims were rushed to hospitals in critical condition, the Jerusalem Post reported.

An investigation is currently underway into the attack, which was carried out by two men, one wielding an ax and another with a gun. The attack took place in two different locations including near Elad Amphitheater Park.

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Police deployed checkpoints along the city’s main roads while a search operation was conducted by helicopter for a vehicle that was seen fleeing the scene. 

The Elad Municipality asked residents to shelter in place for safety.

The attack came as the country ended the country’s 74th Independence Day celebrations on Thursday evening. Just before the Memorial Day and Independence Day, the Israel Defense Forces announced a closure on the West Bank and Gaza Strip with the exception of humanitarian, medical and exceptional cases made with the approval of the IDF’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT).

The attack in Elad comes amid tensions in Israel after a series of deadly attacks that killed close to 20 Israelis.

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To end the violence and curb further attacks, the IDF reinforced troops in the West Bank by 12 battalions for a total of 25 battalions. Of the attacks that took place in Israel recently, at least two of the attacks were carried out by Palestinians who illegally crossed into Israel through holes in the fence.

A third attack, at the entrance to the West Bank city of Ariel last week, was carried out by two Palestinians who were driving a stolen Israeli car.

Hamas’s military wing spokesman Abd al-Latif al-Qanou praised the attack, saying that it was “a heroic and qualitative operation that constitutes a severe blow to the occupation and its security system, in the context of responding to the crimes of the occupation and the settlers’ incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque.”

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He said that Israel is “paying the price for its crimes and its racist policy against our people, and our people will not tire or get bored until the occupation is swept away. Our people will continue their struggle and defense of Al-Aqsa Mosque by all means and tools, and its strikes will reach the Zionists and the herds of settlers wherever they go and settle down.”

Hamas’s military wing has rarely issued statements taking responsibility for attacks in recent years.