Al-Qassam Brigades claim responsibility for shooting attack in Tel Aviv

JERUSALEM

The Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian group Hamas, claimed responsibility Wednesday for a shooting attack in Tel Aviv, Israel.

The incident, initially reported as a possible terrorist attack, unfolded Tuesday in Jaffa, a neighborhood of the city, Israel’s Hayom daily reported.

The operation was carried out by two Palestinians from the West Bank city of Hebron, who were “neutralized,” according to Israeli police.

The Israeli Broadcasting Authority reported Wednesday that the death toll from the shooting has risen to seven, with 16 others injured.

Tension has been running high across the West Bank amid a brutal Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has killed nearly 41,600 people, mostly women and children, since Oct. 7 last year.

At least 721 Palestinians, including 160 children, have since been killed, nearly 6,200 others injured and over 10,900 arrested in the West Bank, according to Palestinian figures.

The escalation follows a landmark opinion in July by the International Court of Justice that declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land unlawful and demanded the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.