Five were killed in a robbery at Bank Hapoalim in the southern Israel city of Beersheba Monday, at about 2 p.m. local time.
One of the thieves reportedly blockaded himself within the bank with a female hostage. He then shot and killed himself in her presence.
"The woman hostage walked out of the bank after the robber shot and killed himself," police spokesperson Mickey Rosenfeld told the AFP. "She was taken for medical treatment in a hospital in Beersheva."
Rosenfeld also mentioned that four were killed in addition to the robber, including bank employees and a customer. Three more were wounded.
"As far as we're concerned, the event is over," Rosenfeld finished.
The robber who committed suicide apparently did so after special anti-terror police stormed the bank.
Photos released by the AFP show the hostage in a white button down shirt, black skirt and no shoes, being rushed away from the scene. She wrings her hands, balled into fists. Later photos bear the image of her sitting in a wheelchair, crying out from shock.
Witnesses say they heard gunfire erupt from within the walls of the bank. A nearby school went into lockdown.
Police have not released detailed specifics about the robbers, but did mention that there was at least one other accomplice involved in the shooting.
After police negotiated with the robbers from the outside, one of them emerged and was arrested on-site. The other remained in the bank with the hostage, who was unharmed in the altercation.
Former Israel police commissioner Assaf Hefetz was broadcasted on the country's army radio that same day, saying that this was one of the most bloodiest robberies Israel has seen in the recent past.
"I can't remember a bank robbery that ended with four fatalities," he said.
