Rescue personnel working near a victim of a terror attack in the East Talpiot neighborhood of Jerusalem, in which two people were killed and more than a dozen wounded on a city bus by two assailants armed with a gun and a knife. (Yonatan Sindel/FLASH90)

JERUSALEM (JTA) — At least three Israelis have been killed and more than 20 wounded in a rash of terror attacks throughout the country.

ADVERTISEMENT

In the wake of two of the attacks on Tuesday morning in Jerusalem, roads into eastern Jerusalem were closed.

Three people were killed in two simultaneous attacks in Jerusalem in the East Talpiot or Armon HaNetziv neighborhood in eastern Jerusalem, and in the Geula neighborhood in central Jerusalem.

Two men identified by the Maan news agency as Palestinian, one carrying a gun and the other a knife, started attacking passengers on an Egged bus in East Talpiot, killing a man in his 60s. A second man, 45, later died at Shaare Zedek hospital. At least 10 other people injured by gunshots and stabbing wounds were treated at area hospitals.  One of the attackers was killed and another wounded during the attack. According to reports, the assailants first attempted to commandeer the bus before attacking passengers.

In the haredi Orthodox Geula neighborhood, an assailant drove a car into a bus stop, killing one and seriously injuring another, and then exited the car and began stabbing pedestrians. The attacker was shot and seriously wounded by a security guard. The attacker was identified as a resident of eastern Jerusalem with Israeli citizenship. An employee of the Bezeq phone company, he used a company car in the attack, Ynet reported.

Two of the Tuesday morning attacks took place in the central Israeli city of Raanana, located about 10 miles from Tel Aviv and home to many immigrants from English-speaking countries.

ADVERTISEMENT

An eastern Jerusalem resident employed by a local rehabilitation center stabbed pedestrians at a bus stop on Ahuza Street, the city’s main thoroughfare. He was subdued by civilians.

Another resident of eastern Jerusalem, reported to be a municipal worker, was captured and subdued by passersby after stabbing pedestrians near Raanana city hall.

Early on Tuesday afternoon an additional stabbing attack took place in near an IKEA store in Kiryat Ata located in northern Israel near Haifa.

Also on Tuesday, hundreds of Palestinians from Gaza began rioting, throwing rocks and fire bombs, close to the Erez Crossing near the security fence with Israel. The border with Gaza was closed.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called an emergency meeting of the Security Cabinet late Tuesday morning to assess the security situation.

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service – if this is your content and you’re reading it on someone else’s site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers.