Jerusalem24 – Eight Israelis including a pregnant woman were injured around 1.30am last night when a Palestinian gunman opened fire on a bus in occupied East Jerusalem near the old city.
The pregnant woman, who was severely wounded along with another man shot in the neck, gave an emergency birth. The baby is in a serious but stable condition. Another four Israelis sustained light to moderate wounds.
A Palestinian man handed himself in to Israeli authorities around 8am.
Following the attack overnight, Israeli forces conducted a large-scale raid on Silwan in occupied East Jerusalem.
According to the Wadi Hilweh Information Center, Israeli forces surrounded Silwan and prevented both entry and exit, stormed a large group of houses, and subjected residents to search and questioning.
The Center said that Israeli police, reinforced by Israeli special forces’ Yamam units, arrested a large number of Silwan residents, mostly young people, suspecting that the perpetrator of the attack was still in Jerusalem.
Among those detained were five members of the same family, namely Asmaa Al-Shiyokhi, her daughter, and three of her young sons. All five were released mid-morning.
A Hamas spokesperson said this morning the attack is “a natural response to the aggression of the occupation soldiers and the crimes of the settlers against the Palestinian people and the holy places.”
Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid issued a statement this morning saying “let all those who seek to harm us know that they will pay a price for any harm to civilians.”
