A truck driver shot dead three Israeli guards at a border crossing between the occupied West Bank and Jordan Sunday (Sep 8) before being "eliminated", Israel's military said, as it pounded Gaza with new strikes. Jordan's interior ministry identified the shooter as Jordanian national Maher Diab Hussein al-Jazi, citing "preliminary investigations". The rare attack at the Allenby Bridge crossing comes amid soaring violence in the West Bank with major Israeli raids and attacks by Palestinians, and against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas Gaza war, now in its 12th month. The military said "a terrorist" reached the crossing area, also known as the King Hussein Bridge, in a truck "from Jordan". The driver "exited the truck and opened fire at Israeli security forces operating at the bridge", a military statement said. "Three Israeli civilians were pronounced dead as a result of the attack," it said, clarifying to AFP that they were "security guards" and not in the army or police.

The attacker was shot dead, the military added. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced the assailant as a "despicable terrorist" inspired by "a murderous ideology" which he said was fuelled by Iran. Hamas praised the attack but did not claim responsibility for it, adding it "affirms the Arab peoples' rejection of the (Israeli) occupation, its crimes, and its ambitions in Palestine and Jordan". The crossing, in the Jordan Valley, is the only international gateway for Palestinians from the West Bank that does not require entering Israel, which has occupied the territory since 1967. Violence in the West Bank has surged alongside the war in Gaza which began after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7. Israel's military on August 28 launched simultaneous raids across several cities and refugee camps in the northern West Bank, killing at least 36 Palestinians, according to the Ramallah-based Palestinian health ministry. The military said it killed 35 militants. Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad claimed at least 14 of the fatalities as members.

Since October 7, Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 662 Palestinians in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian health ministry. At least 23 Israelis, including members of the security forces, have been killed in Palestinian attacks during the same period, Israeli officials say. The Hamas attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians including some hostages killed in captivity, official Israeli figures show. Militants seized 251 hostages during the attack, 97 of whom are still held in Gaza, including 33 the Israeli military says are dead. Israel's retaliatory offensive in Gaza has so far killed at least 40,972 people, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory. The UN human rights office says most of the dead are women and children. On Sunday, Israel pounded Gaza with air strikes and shelling as prospects remained dim for a ceasefire. Gaza's civil defence agency said nearly a dozen people were killed in Israeli air strikes on Sunday, including five in Jabalia refugee camp.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan