- Palestinian assailants conducted an attack in Jerusalem, killing three and injuring at least six others
- The incident comes after several days of fighting the most sensitive holy site in Jerusalem
- Before the attack, Israeli airstrikes struck Lebanon and the Gaza strip
A recent attack by Palestinian assailants on Friday resulted in the death of three people and injury of at least six others in Jerusalem, the latest development in rising tensions.
The incident occurred after several days of fighting at Jerusalem's most sensitive holy site, said officials. Earlier in the day, Israeli airstrikes meant to be retaliatory struck Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, causing fears of a broader conflict.
Shooting Attack in Jerusalem
In a statement, Israeli authorities noted that one Italian tourist was among the fatalities, and five other Italian and British citizens were injured. These resulted from a car slamming into a group of tourists in Tel Aviv, the commercial hub of Israel, as per the Associated Press.
Officials added that two British-Israeli women were fatally shot near a settlement in the occupied West Bank in a separate incident. The slew of violence in recent times across Israel and the West Bank has caused fears that there would be an even more chaotic conflict.
These concerns come as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan is fast approaching, and the Jewish Passover holiday and Easter are already underway. In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was ordering reserve forces in the country's border police to "confront the terror attacks."
The additional force would be activated on Sunday and assist other units recently deployed in Jerusalem and Lod, a town in central Israel with a mixed Jewish and Palestinian population.
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Rising Tensions Between Israelis, Palestinians
The Israeli military said that the shooting attack was carried out by suspects riding a vehicle at the Hamra Junction, adding that soldiers were working on searching the area. In a statement, the Magen David Adom ambulance service noted that the two female fatalities were in their 20s, and one of the seriously injured was a woman in her 40s, according to Al Jazeera.
Israeli warplanes struck infrastructure that belonged to Palestinian armed groups accused of firing nearly three dozen rockets. The projectiles hit open areas and northern Israeli towns on Thursday.
There were no reports of serious casualties in those particular strikes, but several residents living in Qalili, a southern Lebanese town, said they were lightly wounded. These included Syrian refugees who were living in the area.
The rocket strikes are considered the largest from Lebanon since the war that began in 2006 between the two countries. The international spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, said the military was already working on addressing a "convergence of frontiers" in the region.
In an interview, he said that an event kicked off in Jerusalem and expanded to Gaza, Hamas, and Lebanon. CNN said the airstrikes also struck the latter region, and the Israeli military blamed Hamas for the launches.
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