NEAR ALLENBY BRIDGE, WEST BANK (Reuters) – A gunman crossing Jordan killed three Israeli civilians at the Allenby Bridge border in the occupied West Bank before security forces shot him on Sunday, Israeli officials said.
It was the first such attack on the border with Jordan since the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, in Gaza, which has since widened the region’s war.
Officials said the attack took place in the commercial cargo area under Israeli control, where Jordanian trucks were unloading cargo entering the West Bank. Also known as the King Hussein Bridge, the crossing is located approximately midway between Amman and Jerusalem, north of the Dead Sea.
“The terrorist approached the Allenby bridge from Jordan with a truck, got out of the truck and opened fire on the Israeli security forces operating on the bridge,” the Israeli army said.
“The terrorist was destroyed by the security forces, three Israeli citizens died as a result of the attack,” the report said.
Jordan was investigating the shooting, and a Jordanian official said the crossing was closed.
The Israeli manager of the crossing said three workers were shot at close range by a driver crossing from Jordan.
Israel and Jordan signed a peace treaty in 1994 and have close security ties. Dozens of trailers pass through Jordan every day, supplying both the West Bank and Israeli markets with goods from Jordan and the Gulf.
