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Police officer killed and 4 wounded in shooting in central Israel

Israeli police said one officer was killed and four civilians were wounded in a shooting Tuesday on a highway in central Israel.

Police did not immediately provide the identity of the shooter, but police spokeswoman, Mirit Ben Mayor, said that it was a militant attack.

Police said the attacker approached the highway and shot the officer before firing on civilians, wounding four. The attacker was then shot by a paramedic arriving on the scene, Israel’s rescue services said, without saying whether the attacker was killed.

The shooting occurred on a two-lane highway near the city of Yavne, just south of Tel Aviv.

Ohad Yehezkeli, a spokesperson for nearby Assuta Hospital, said the officer died on the way there and another civilian was being treated for moderate injuries. He said two more wounded people were being transported to the hospital.

Palestinians have carried out dozens of stabbing, shooting and car-ramming attacks against Israelis since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack triggered the war in Gaza.

Israel has ramped up military operations in the occupied West Bank, killing more than 750 Palestinians. Most have been killed during gunbattles with the army or violent protests, but the dead also include civilian bystanders.

Source: Associated Press


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