Seven murdered in Jaffa terror shooting, many more wounded

Seven people were murdered and dozens were wounded in a terrorist shooting attack at a light rail station in Jaffa on Tuesday evening.

Hamas took responsibility for the attack in post to their Telegram channel on Wednesday.

Six people were taken to Ichilov Medical Center with at least two in critical condition with head wounds and the others moderately to seriously wounded. Twelve wounded, including a child, were transferred to the Wolfson Medical Center; five were in serious condition.

According to a later report, a seventh person died from their wounds, the Ichilov Medical Center announced on Tuesday night.

Later on Wednesday morning, the name of one of the victims of the attack was released as Inbar Segev, a 33-year-old mother of a nine-month-old baby. According to reports, her baby was with her during the attack and was rushed to the hospital by a passerby. 

Inbar Segev, a 33 year old mother to a nine month old baby, was shot to death last night by Palestinian terrorists, as were another six Israelis. A passerby took the baby to a hospital. May she rest in peace pic.twitter.com/iPW4dKGsb2

— Naftali Bennett נפתלי בנט (@naftalibennett) October 2, 2024

Security forces initially believed the incident was criminal because there has been a criminal shooting in the area nearly every day recently due to a well-known criminal living nearby, according to Maariv.

Once they heard the shooting and shouts of “Allahu Akbar,” the authorities arrived on the scene ready for a terror incident.

Eyewitnesses described the terror and chaos.

“We were on the light rail when we suddenly heard gunfire from outside,” one witness said. “At first, we thought it was fireworks, but then we realized it was something much worse. There were many gunshots. We dropped to the floor, and people were crying. I saw someone bleeding on the ground.”

A nearby shop owner added, “I saw crowds of people running and shouting ‘terror attack.’ I quickly closed my shutters and locked up.”

The two terrorists, Muhammad Chalaf Sahar Rajab and Hassan Muhammad Hassan Tamimi, from Hebron, were shot dead by members of a Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality security patrol unit and citizens using personal firearms, according to the police.

Terror and chaos in Tel Aviv's light rail

Hanan Peretz, head of the local patrol unit, praised his team’s swift response.

“They identified the gunman, took cover without hesitation, and fired at him,” he said. “It seems the terrorist’s weapon malfunctioned during the shooting.”

The police and security services are continuing their investigation into the attack, which took place near the Gush Dan Light Rail’s Erlich Station.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Police Commissioner Daniel Levy arrived at the scene, along with Tel Aviv District Commander Haim Sargrof.

“This is a difficult incident,” Sargrof said. “At around 7 p.m., we received a report that two terrorists had boarded the light rail and opened fire. They injured four people, then exited the train and continued shooting at civilians on the street. A light rail security guard, two officers from the municipal Sela Unit, and police officers shot at the terrorists and neutralized both of them. We know their origin and are conducting further checks with the Shin Bet [Israel Security Agency]. They are not Israeli citizens.” 

This is a developing story. Uri Sela contributed to this report.