NEAR ALLENBY BRIDGE CROSSING, West Bank (Reuters) -A gunman crossing from Jordan killed three Israeli civilians at the Allenby Bridge border 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 since 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.
“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,” it said.
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.
(Reporting by Ilan Rosenberg, Ari Rabinovitch, Suleiman, Al-Khalidi; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
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