One dead and several wounded in suspected terror attack in central Israel

One person has been killed and several others left wounded in a suspected terror attack carried out in central Israel.

The force said that a 35-year-old man was shot dead at a petrol station in Kochav Yair. At least five members of the public were injured after a shooter opened fire across three locations.

The wounded casualties have now been transferred to two hospitals, Israel's rescue service, Magen David Adom, added. Two remain in serious condition.

Police confirmed they killed both suspects in a shooting in the Kochav Ya'ir area.

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"The public is asked to be vigilant, obey the instructions of the police and report any suspicious incident or person to the police,” the service said.

An Israeli security source said the suspect was an Israeli citizen from Tayibe, an Arab town north of Kochav Yair.

The shooting carried out across three locations near the West Bank border is now being treated as a terror attack by police.

In the wake of the attack, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich demanded “profound change” among Israel’s Arabs and issued a warning over illegal weaponry.

"The equation is simple: whoever accepts the state’s sovereignty will live here in peace," Mr Smotrich said.

"Whoever chooses the path of terror will have their blood on their own head."

Terrorist group Hamas heaped praise onto the shooting, saying it was a response to "the occupation's ongoing aggression against the Gaza Strip".

It also said it was also in response to the "assaults that affect our people daily in the West Bank and Jerusalem".

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The group did not claim responsibility for what they branded a "heroic" operation.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed it was assessing the fatal shootings.

Lior Zilberberg, an ambulance worker, said: "We were in a large training exercise in a nearby community when we received reports... about gunshot casualties at several scenes close to us.

"We immediately stopped the exercise and set out with intensive care units and ambulances to the gas station in Kochav Yair, Tzur Yitzhak, and Tzur Natan.

"During the drive, civilians signalled me to stop and called me to provide medical treatment to an unconscious casualty inside a vehicle.

"He was pulseless and not breathing, with gunshot wounds to his body, and after medical assessments we were forced to pronounce him dead.

"Near the vehicle, another injured person was lying conscious, suffering gunshot wounds to the upper body. After initial medical treatment at the scene, he was evacuated."

Israeli police chief and Itamar Ben-Gvir, the Prime Minister's national security minister, addressed media at the scene of the fatal shooting.

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