At least two people died and eight were injured after a shooting in the center of the city of Tel Aviv, capital of Israel, on Thursday (7). Local police classify the episode as a terrorist attack, and the shooter has not yet been located.
Emergency teams are on site, and those who live nearby have been instructed to stay indoors. Video of the moment circulating on social media shows dozens of people running on a street in the capital after the attack.
Police spokesman Eli Levy told Israel’s Channel 13 only that “a terrorist opened fire at close range and then fled on foot; several people were injured.” He also asked that people do not even stick their heads out of the windows of their homes and stay away from balconies.
Officials at the Ichilov Medical Center, where the wounded were taken, said four were undergoing surgery and were in serious condition, two were in stable condition and two others were slightly injured, according to the local newspaper Times of Israel.
The Transport Ministry said shortly afterwards that, at the request of local police, all public transport in central Tel Aviv had been stopped as security agents continued the search for the shooter.
Israel has observed, over the last few weeks, a wave of attacks carried out in different parts of the country. The season coincides with the Muslim celebration of the holy period of Ramadan.
The Islamic State terrorist group claimed responsibility for one of the attacks, in which two men of Arab origin killed two Israeli police officers in late March. The gunmen were killed in the aftermath, and at least three people were injured.
Days later, a gunman opened fire on the outskirts of Tel Aviv and killed five people – he was subsequently killed –, in what was the fourth such episode in the last ten days in the country.
In all, 13 people were killed in the last month in Israel in the midst of these episodes, according to information from the Reuters news agency.
