Palestinian Gunman Kills 2, Injures Several in Tel Aviv Terror Attack

JERUSALEM, Israel –  A Palestinian gunman killed two people and injured at least 13 others when he opened fire on a crowd of patrons at a busy Tel Aviv bar Thursday night.

The assailant led police on an overnight manhunt before he was killed during a gun battle with officers early Friday morning. Israeli media identified the terrorist as Ra’ad Hazem, 28, from the city of Jenin in the West Bank – biblical Judea and Samaria.

“After a difficult night, and after long hours of activity by police, the army and the Shin Bet, we succeeded this morning, through intelligence and operational cooperation, to close the circle and to kill the terrorist in a shootout,” Israeli police chief Kobi Shabtai said.

Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security service, said they cornered Hazem in a mosque in the Jaffa neighborhood, where he was killed in a shootout. Shin Bet said the assailant was in Israel illegally and had “no clear organizational affiliation, no security background and no previous arrests.”

“The investigation into the attack is continuing,” Shin Bet added.

Police said the attack began around 9 p.m. local time.

“The terrorist just began shooting. As far as I know, no one even saw him or knew where he was,” the owner of Ilka bar, where the mass shooting began, told Israel’s Channel 12 news. “In my bar, we had a number of people hit, all young people under 30.”

Ra’anan Shimon, 32, was shot in the face. Medics say it was a “miracle” he survived, and that the bullet entered one cheek and exited the other.

“I went to drink a beer with a friend at Ilka. We were sitting outside for about 15 minutes when the terrorist appeared in front of us and began to shoot,” Shimon said.

“I fell on the floor and looked for cover and went behind the beer barrels when suddenly I felt that I was dripping blood,” he explained. “There were a few shots and we waited until things quieted down.”

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Israel’s Magen David Adom EMS service said two men around 30 years old were killed in the attack.

The Hamas terror group applauded the attack but did not claim responsibility for it.

“The heroic attack in the heart of the (Israeli) entity has struck the Zionist security system and proved our people’s ability to hurt the occupation,” said Hamas spokesman Abdelatif Al-Qanou.

Thursday night’s shooting is the fourth deadly Palestinian terror attack in Israel in less than three weeks. It came amid heightened tensions around the Muslim holy month of Ramadan when violent attacks typically increase. This current wave of terror is the worst Israel has seen in years and it has already claimed the lives of 13 people.

No Palestinian terror groups have claimed responsibility for the recent attacks, leading police to believe they are being carried out by lone wolfs. However, ISIS claimed responsibility for a terror attack that killed two in the city of Hadera.

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