A woman was killed and nine were left seriously injured following a suspected shooting spree in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba.
The ambulance service earlier said a severely wounded woman in her twenties was being treated at the scene before she succumbed to her injuries.
Another eight other people were hurt in the attack, including one in a moderate to serious condition, who are receiving treatment in nearby Soroka Hospital.
According to local reports, the gunman – an Arab-Israeli resident of a nearby Bedouin village – was shot dead, with police now investigating whether the attack involved both stabbing and gunfire by the terrorist.
Named locally by the Israel Hayom as Ahmed Suliman Al-Ukbi, 29, an Israeli citizen of Bedouin background, he had allegedly gone from store-to-store near Beersheba’s central bus station, targeting a McDonald’s and a nearby coffeeshop before authorities arrived.
A woman was killed and nine were left seriously injured following a suspected shooting spree in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba
Israeli police work at the scene of an attack in Beersheba, southern Israel, October 6
Graphic aftermath video following terror attack in southern Israeli city of Beersheba
Israeli police cordons and gathered evidence following a shooting attack at a bus station in Beersheba
The shooter had allegedly gone from store-to-store near Beersheba’s central bus station, targeting a McDonald’s and a nearby coffeeshop before authorities arrived
He was neutralised at the scene, but police forces from the Southern District remained at the shooting site while they searched for accomplices, saying that ‘the situation is still active.’
A witness at the scene told N12 News he saw soldiers fire at the assailant, who media reported was a member of the Bedouin minority in Israel’s Negev desert.
Following the attack, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called for the deportation of the terrorist despite his Israeli citizenship and his family, according to Israeli media.
‘I call on the Prime Minister to pass the law we proposed today to deport families of terrorists. Pass the law of deporting families of terrorists,’ he said.
‘There are many Bedouins loyal to the state, but there are some who are not. Those who are unfaithful should be dealt with firmly.’
This is the second mass shooting incident in Israel in a week.
A suspected terror attack was reported in Israel’s Tel Aviv on October 1 with Israeli police reporting a suspected shooting in Jaffa that resulted in multiple casualties.
Police confirmed that eight people were killed and seven others were injured in the attack, which occurred on Jerusalem Street near a light rail station.
Sunday’s mass shooting comes after Israel last night launched 30 airstrikes on Lebanon just a day before the anniversary of the October 7 massacre.
Terrifying video footage captured the moment an orange blaze erupted above Lebanon’s capital with reports suggesting the strike may have hit a petrol station, according to a map provided by the Israeli military.
Lebanon’s official National News Agency said the Hezbollah stronghold in south Beirut was hit by more than 30 strikes overnight, which were heard across the city, with smoke still seen billowing from the site after dawn.
Israel’s military said it ‘conducted a series of strikes on a number of weapons storage facilities’ and infrastructure, stressing it had taken ‘numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians’.
An Israeli Border Police officer sits near the scene of an attack in Beersheba, southern Israel, October 6
Israeli police cordons and gathered evidence following a shooting attack at a bus station in Beersheba
This is the second mass shooting incident in Israel in a week
In the Sabra area, near the southern suburbs, dozens of people, some carrying bags on foot and others on motorbikes, fled one of the most intense bombardments of the Israel-Hezbollah war.
Israel says it’s now struck more than 2,000 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon and the Iranian-backed militia group continues to fire back.
In a televised address last night Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country was fighting against the forces of ‘barbarism’, led by Iran.
In a Sunday morning update from the IDF, it said the Israeli air force intercepted a ‘number’ of aerial targets launched from Lebanese territory overnight.
The post on X says the targets did not cross into Israeli territory but that alerts were issued due to the risk of fragments falling from the sky.
It followed warnings being issued in the Western Galilee area.
In a separate update from earlier, the IDF also said an Israeli navy missile ship intercepted two drones ‘launched from the east’ in the Mediterranean Sea, while the air force intercepted one unmanned aerial device (UAV) in the maritime area off the coast of Gush Dan – also launched from the east.
Smoke rises from a fire after an explosion following an Israeli strike at Choueifat district in Beirut, Lebanon, early October 6
Israel’s military stated on October 6, it conducted a series of overnight ‘targeted strikes’ on a number of facilities and infrastructure sites belonging to Hezbollah in the area of Beirut
No casualties were reported in either case, it added.
Last year’s unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel by Palestinian militants resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures that include hostages killed in captivity.
One year later, Israel’s war in Gaza against Hamas continues despite having shifted its focus to Lebanon and Hezbollah.
Israel’s military said it had killed around 440 Hezbollah fighters ‘from the ground and from the air’ since Monday, when troops began ‘targeted’ ground operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Israel says it aims to allow tens of thousands of Israelis displaced by almost a year of Hezbollah rocket fire into northern Israel to return home.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog called Iran an ‘ongoing threat’ after Tehran, which backs armed groups across the Middle East, on Tuesday launched around 200 missiles at Israel in revenge for Israeli killings of militant leaders including Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.
