Two Palestinian terrorists opened fire at a crowded bus stop in Jerusalem on Monday, killing six people and wounding 12 others in one of the deadliest attacks in the city in years.
The shooting took place at Ramot Junction shortly after 10 a.m., leaving scenes of chaos as civilians scrambled for cover.
The Attack
The gunmen arrived by car and opened fire at a bus and people waiting nearby.
Police said an off-duty soldier and armed civilians returned fire, killing both terrorists at the scene.
Dashcam footage captured panicked commuters running between cars as shots rang out.
Victims Identified
Magen David Adom confirmed that four people died on the scene and two later at the hospital.
The victims were named as Levi Yitzhak Pash, 57, Yaakov Pinto, 25, Yisrael Matzner, 28, Rabbi Yosef David, 43, Rabbi Mordechai Steintzag, 79, and Sarah Mendelson, 60.
Several others remain hospitalized, six of them in serious condition.
The Terrorists
Israel’s Shin Bet identified the shooters as Mohammad Taha, 21, and Muthanna Amro, 20, both from villages near Ramallah.
Mohammad Taha
Muthanna Amro
Neither had prior arrests, but they used improvised “Carlo” submachine guns, weapons often produced in illegal West Bank workshops.
Police also recovered knives and additional ammunition from the scene.
Official Response
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the site and vowed that Israel would “encircle the villages where the terrorists came from.”
“We are now in a mighty war against terror on all fronts,” he said.
Benjamin Netanyahu
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir praised armed civilians who fired back, repeating his call to expand civilian gun ownership. “Weapons save lives,” he declared.
International Reaction
Hamas praised the attack as a “heroic operation,” though it stopped short of claiming responsibility.
Islamic Jihad also issued statements of support, calling for further escalation.
Meanwhile, Spain confirmed one of its citizens was among the dead. France, the EU, and the UAE all condemned the killings.
Witnesses Reaction
Witnesses described the terror as bullets tore through buses and cars.
“I thought I was going to die,” one injured woman told Israeli TV from her hospital bed.
Malka Cohen, a passenger on the bus, recalled diving for cover as terrorists stormed aboard: “Indescribable gunfire.”
The Ramot Junction has seen multiple terror incidents in recent years, including a 2023 car-ramming that killed two people.
Israeli security forces said they have thwarted hundreds of attacks this year but admitted this one slipped through.
