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At least six people have been killed and nine wounded in a suspected shooting and stabbing terror attack in Tel Aviv, Israeli police have said.
The force said two “terrorists” started the killing spree on the Israeli capital’s light railway and continued on foot before being shot dead by civilians and officers in the neighbourhood of Jaffa on Tuesday.
The news broke in local media reports at around 5.15pm (BST), just moments before air raid sirens began sounding across Israel as Iran launched a barrage of missiles at the country.
There has been no claim of responsibility for the shooting attack, but Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich alleged they were Palestinians from the West Bank city of Hebron.
TV footage showed the gunmen getting off at the light rail station and opening fire.
Israel’s MDA ambulance service said it received a report of people injured by gunfire.
Medics and paramedics provided on-site treatment to a number of wounded people with varying degrees of injuries, including some who were unconscious, MDA said.
Mere minutes later, Iran fired a salvo of ballistic missiles at Israel in retaliation for Israel’s campaign against Tehran’s Hezbollah allies in Lebanon, including the killing of the group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut last week.
Alarms sounded across Israel and explosions could be heard in Jerusalem and the Jordan River valley after Israelis piled into bomb shelters. Reporters on state television lay flat on the ground during live broadcasts.
Israel said more than 180 missiles were launched into Israel from Iran and Israeli air defences were activated to intercept them. US Navy warships helped intercept some projectiles fired by Iran at Israel, a US defence official told Reuters.
Israel’s military later sounded the all-clear and said residents were free to leave their shelters.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Iran had launched tens of missiles at Israel, and that if Israel retaliated Tehran’s response would be “more crushing and ruinous”. Tehran targeted three Israeli military bases in its attack, Iran’s state news agency said.
Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said the attack would have consequences, as did Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon, with the country vowing a “painful response” against its enemy.
