On 16 February 2024, a mass shooting took place at a bus station at the Re'em Junction along Highway 40 in Kiryat Malakhi, a city in Southern District, Israel. Two people were killed and four injured, with the shooter killed by an off-duty Israel Defense Force (IDF) reservist at the scene.

Attack

Shortly after 12:30 pm, the shooter arrived at a bus station in Re'em Junction on Highway 40, near Kiryat Malakhi, in a stolen vehicle. He then opened fire at civilians waiting at the bus stop with a handgun. Six people were shot. Magen David Adom paramedics evacuated the victims to the two nearest hospitals: Kaplan Medical Center in

Rehovot Rehovot ( he, רְחוֹבוֹת ''Rəḥōvōt'', ar, رحوڤوت ''Reḥūfūt'') is a city in the Central District of Israel, about south of Tel Aviv. In it had a population of . Etymology Israel Belkind, founder of the Bilu movement, ...

and Assuta Ashdod Medical Center in

Ashdod Ashdod ( he, ''ʾašdōḏ''; ar, أسدود or إسدود ''ʾisdūd'' or '' ʾasdūd'' ; Philistine: 𐤀𐤔𐤃𐤃 *''ʾašdūd'') is the sixth-largest city in Israel. Located in the country's Southern District, it lies on the Mediterran ...

. Kaplan Medical Center later announced that one victim died at the scene, while another was evacuated in serious condition and died at the hospital. The Magen David Adom stated that two of the four injured were in serious condition, and the other two were in moderate condition. An off-duty IDF reservist who was driving near the scene heard gunshots, and stopped at a gas station. He then loaded his gun and fatally shot the attacker. An eyewitness said they saw him open fire on the shooter about a minute and a half after the attack began.

Assailant

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner f ...

initially identified the shooter as a Palestinian from

East Jerusalem East Jerusalem (, ; , ) is the sector of Jerusalem that was held by Jordan during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, as opposed to the western sector of the city, West Jerusalem, which was held by Israel. Jerusalem was envisaged as a separat ...

; the Shin Bet intelligence service later identified the assailant as Fadi Jamjoum, a 37-year-old resident of the Shu'fat Palestinian refugee camp in

, who held an Israeli identity card. Police determined he acted alone.

Aftermath

Clashes broke out in Shuafat between Israel Police forces and residents as Police reportedly headed for Jamjoun's house. Residents threw stones and

Molotov cocktails A Molotov cocktail (among several other names – ''see other names'') is a hand thrown incendiary weapon constructed from a frangible container filled with flammable substances equipped with a fuse (typically a glass bottle filled with flammab ...

at police officers, who responded using "riot dispersal means". Doron Turgeman, Israel Police commander of the Jerusalem district, ordered the destruction of Jamjoun's home. After receiving a warrant, police officers cleared the home of Jamjoun's family before sealing it.

Reactions

Domestic

Following the attack,

Prime Minister of Israel The prime minister of Israel ( he, רֹאשׁ הַמֶּמְשָׁלָה, Rosh HaMemshala, Head of the Government, Hebrew acronym: he2, רה״מ; ar, رئيس الحكومة, ''Ra'īs al-Ḥukūma'') is the head of government and chief exec ...

Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu (; ; born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who served as the ninth prime minister of Israel from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2009 to 2021. He is currently serving as Leader of the Opposition and Chairman of ...

issued a statement in which he sent condolences to the families affected, and said that the "attack reminds us that the whole country is a front and that the murderers, who come not only from Gaza, want to kill us all. We will continue to fight until complete victory with all our strength, on every front, everywhere, until we restore security and peace to all citizens of Israel".

Palestinian groups

Hamas Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Bri ...

praised the attack and said it was a natural response to Israel's war in Gaza, and called for more Palestinians to take up arms. Palestinian Islamic Jihad said the attack was a response to Israel's war in Gaza.

Fatah Fatah ( ar, فتح '), formerly the Palestinian National Liberation Movement, is a Palestinian nationalist social democratic political party and the largest faction of the confederated multi-party Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and ...

hailed the attack, calling it a "heroic operation in the occupied territories". However,

Palestinian Authority The Palestinian National Authority (PA or PNA; ar, السلطة الوطنية الفلسطينية '), commonly known as the Palestinian Authority and officially the State of Palestine,

President

Mahmoud Abbas Mahmoud Abbas ( ar, مَحْمُود عَبَّاس, Maḥmūd ʿAbbās; born 15 November 1935), also known by the kunya Abu Mazen ( ar, أَبُو مَازِن, links=no, ), is the president of the State of Palestine and the Palestinian Natio ...

, who also headed the

movement, denounces the statement. His office added “The president is against violence and against terror attacks,”.

International

United States Ambassador to Israel The United States ambassador to Israel is the official representative of the president of the United States to the head of state of Israel. Until 1948 the area that is now the state of Israel had been under British administration as part of the ...

Jack Lew Jacob Joseph Lew (born August 29, 1955) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 76th United States Secretary of the Treasury from 2013 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he also served as the 25th White House Chief of S ...

said he was appalled by the attack and offered condolences to the families affected.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kiryat Malakhi attack, 2024 2024 in Israel 2024 mass shootings in Asia Attacks in the Israel–Hamas war Domestic reactions to the Israel–Hamas war February 2024 crimes in Asia February 2024 events in Israel Palestinian political violence Terrorist incidents in Israel in 2024 Mass shootings in Israel Attacks on buildings and structures in 2024 Attacks on buildings and structures in Israel Attacks on bus stations 2024 road incidents in Asia Bus incidents in Israel Southern District (Israel)