Two officers killed in central Israel shooting attack, two assailants fatally shot
Two Palestinian gunmen opened fire in the central Israeli city of Hadera on Sunday, killing at least two Israeli police officers and wounding several others before being fatally shot, local medical and police sources confirmed.
At least three Israeli officers were wounded in the attack, according to national police spokesman Eli Levy. The police officers were evacuated to Hillel Yaffe Medical Center in Hadera.
Meanwhile, the two Palestinian assailants, reportedly from the city of Umm al-Fahm inside Israel, were fatally shot by undercover officers, Israel police said.
"Luckily, our officers managed to neutralise the assailants and prevent a bigger terrorist attack," Levy said on Israel's Kan television.
The Islamic State group (IS) claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted on its Telegram account, without citing any evidence.
Surveillance camera footage broadcast on Israeli television stations showed two men opening fire with assault rifles on a main street in Hadera, about 30 miles north of Tel Aviv.
Israeli forces have reportedly launched a raid on the village of Umm al-Fahm, according to local sources. Israeli forces frequently close off and harass entire Palestinian towns following attacks, a practice that has been condemned by rights groups as collective punishment.
The incident comes as US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is in Israel, along with officials from several Arab nations, in landmark meetings that began this week in the south of the country.
The foreign ministers of Egypt, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, who are participating in the "Negev Summit", have been updated on the details of the attack. They condemned and sent condolences to the families of the victims.
Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid added: "Tonight's heinous terrorist attack is an attempt by violent extremists to intimidate and damage the fabric of life here. I send my condolences to the families of those killed, and best wishes for the recovery of the wounded. "
Last week, four Israelis were killed in a suspected stabbing and car ramming attack in Israel's Beersheba settlement.
The four victims, two women and two men, died on Tuesday after a series of attacks that began outside a shopping mall in the city of Beersheba. The attacks were carried out by a Palestinian citizen of Israel from the town of Hura.
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