Gunman from Jordan kills three Israelis at border crossing, Israeli army says

A gunman from Jordan killed three Israeli civilians at the Allenby Bridge border crossing in the occupied West Bank before security forces shot him dead on Sunday, Israeli authorities said.

It was the first attack of its kind along the border with Jordan since Oct. 7, when Palestinian Islamist group Hamas carried out an assault on southern Israel, sparking the war in Gaza that has escalated throughout the region.

The attack took place in a commercial cargo area under Israeli control where Jordanian trucks offload cargo entering the West Bank, officials said. The crossing, also known as the King Hussein Bridge, lies about midway between Amman and Jerusalem just north of the Dead Sea.

The assailant was a 39-year-old truck driver who came from the influential Huwaitat tribe in southern Jordan, according to family members.

"A terrorist approached the area of the Allenby Bridge from Jordan in a truck, exited the truck, and opened fire at the Israeli security forces operating at the bridge," the Israeli military said.

"The terrorist was eliminated by the security forces, three Israeli civilians were pronounced dead as a result of the attack."

Jordan was investigating the shooting and a Jordanian official said the crossing has been closed.

The Israeli manager of the crossing said three workers were shot dead at close range by the driver crossing from Jordan.

Israel and Jordan signed a peace treaty in 1994 and have close security ties. Dozens of trailers cross daily from Jordan, with goods from Jordan and the Gulf that supply both the West Bank and Israeli markets.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog, whose role is largely ceremonial, urged all parties to investigate the incident to prevent repeats.

(Reporting by Ilan Rosenberg, Ari Rabinovitch, Suleiman, Al-Khalidi; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Andrew Cawthorne)

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Gunman from Jordan kills three Israelis at border crossing, Israeli army says