Fresh violence kills 6 in Israel and Gaza, West Bank border clash leaves 3 dead.
Three Israeli civilians were shot dead during an attack at the Allenby Bridge border crossing between the West Bank and Jordan yesterday. The gunman approached from the Jordanian side in a truck and opened fire before being killed in an exchange with Israeli security personnel.
In a separate incident, an Israeli airstrike in Gaza killed five Palestinians including two women and two children. It targeted the home of a senior Civil Defense official in Jabaliya refugee camp. Israel says it aims to avoid civilian harm but Gaza authorities do not differentiate between fighters and civilians in their casualty counts.
Over 40,000 Palestinians have reportedly died in Gaza since last year’s war erupted. The conflict has displaced around 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million population multiple times and caused vast destruction.
Meanwhile, Hamas-led militants had killed some 1,200 people mostly civilians during their October attack on Israel. Around 100 captives are still being held after most were released in a November ceasefire deal for Palestinian prisoners.
The US, Qatar, and Egypt have spent months brokering truce talks and hostage releases to no avail. Around 690 Palestinians have also died in the West Bank since, according to Palestinian authorities there.
The violence underscores persisting tensions after Israel captured Gaza, the West Bank, and east Jerusalem in 1967, withdrawing troops and settlers from Gaza in 2005 but continuing control over borders.
