Terror in Israel's South: Two killed, two seriously injured in shooting attack

Two people were killed, two others were seriously wounded, one person was moderately wounded, and one person was lightly wounded in a suspected shooting attack on Highway 40 near Bnei Re'em in southern Israel on Friday afternoon.

The IDF announced on Saturday evening the death of Sgt.-Maj. (res.) Ori Yaish was killed in the terror attack.

A civilian who was driving by managed to get out of his car and shoot and kill the terrorist. Police were conducting searches in the area to ensure there were no other terrorists or accomplices on the loose. Israel Police chief Kobi Shabtai and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir headed to the scene after the attack.

The terrorist arrived at the scene in a stolen car and fired at people waiting at a bus stop at the Re'em Masmiya Junction, located east of Ashdod. Initial investigations indicate that the terrorist was a resident of Shuafat in east Jerusalem with Israeli residency. It was later confirmed that Yishay Gertner, 23, was one of the Israelis murdered in the attack.

Shabtai told reporters after the attack that police had raised their level of alert around the country.

The terrorist was known to the Jerusalem police due to his involvement in riots and demonstrations on the Temple Mount, but had no security record, according to N12.

Ben-Gvir used the opportunity to promote his efforts to make it easier for civilians to get a gun license, stressing "weapons save lives."

"We know that in the last month, there has been criticism of the very broad policy of distributing weapons, today it has been proven that weapons save people's lives," stressed Ben-Gvir. "Not only will I not submit to criticism, but I will expand and increase our policy to allow Israeli citizens to arm themselves."

The civilian told Ben-Gvir, "I stopped at a gas station because I heard shooting. My child was in the car, I told him 'Stay here, don't move'. At some point I loaded my gun, I identified the terrorist with certainty from the other side of the road shooting people, I went down to my knees, I put a few bullets on him and he fell."

Minister in the War Cabinet Benny Gantz expressed his condolences to the family of the victims, saying "We are fighting for our lives in this country. The cost is difficult, but we are determined. Together, we will break the spirit of terror of our enemies."

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mourned the deaths of two Israelis in a message sent out on Friday afternoon, further writing that "this terror attack reminds us that the entire country is one front...the terrorists, who are not just from Gaza, want to kill us all.

"We will continue fighting until we reach total victory, on all fronts."

Kiryat Malachi deploys security teams at entrance to city

After the attack, the Kiryat Malachi Municipality announced that municipal security teams were deployed at all the entrances on the eastern side of the city, located south of the site of the attack.

"We quickly arrived at the scene with large forces," said the deputy director of Magen David Adom in the Lachish District Nachum David. "The scene was very difficult. We saw people with gunshot wounds lying down with some of them unconscious. We immediately performed first aid for the wounded. A young man about 20 years old was unconscious without a pulse and not breathing with gunshot wounds. We gave him life-saving treatment, tried to fight for his life, and evacuated him to the hospital while conducting resuscitation efforts."

"Another young man about 20 years old was unconscious and a boy about 16 years old and a man about 65 years old were conscious and suffered from severe penetrating injuries," added "A 65-year-old woman was in moderate condition, and a 52-year-old man who managed to escape from the scene called us near the nearby town of Yad Binyamin. We reached him quickly, he was conscious and suffered a penetrating injury to his body and we also evacuated him to the hospital as his condition was moderate and stable."

Palestinian Islamic Jihad spokesperson Muhammad Hajj Musa welcomed the attack, saying it served as a "response" to the war in Gaza.

"We call on our people to intensify operations and pain the enemy in response to its crimes, because it is the only language this enemy understands," said Musa.

This is a developing story.