Attacker opens fire at crossing between West Bank and Jordan, killing at least two

An assailant who arrived in a truck carrying humanitarian aid from Jordan shot and killed two men on Thursday at the main Allenby border crossing between the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Jordan, Israel's military said.

Security forces "neutralised" the attacker, it added. 

The victims, a man in his 20s and another in his 60s, received initial treatment at the scene before being pronounced dead, the Israeli emergency services agency Magen David Adom (MDA) said in a statement.

"We continued the medical care, including resuscitation efforts, at the end of which we sadly had to pronounce them deceased," the MDA cited one of its medics as saying.

The Israeli military said the attacker arrived from Jordan in an aid vehicle. "A terrorist arrived in a truck transporting humanitarian aid from Jordan and opened fire," the military said.

"The security forces neutralised the terrorist at the scene."

Jordanian government spokesman Mohamad Momani said authorities in the kingdom were looking into the reports.

"We are following up news reports about a security incident on the other side of King Hussein bridge (Allenby)," he said, adding: "We will announce later any details we get on that." 

A Jordanian security department spokesperson said Israel had closed down its portion of the bridge crossing: "The Israelis closed the other side while the bridge is still open from the Jordanian side."

Israel's Channel 12 television network reported that the attacker opened fire and stabbed the victims, showing images of a blood-stained knife and a gun on the ground.

The crossing, in the Jordan Valley, is the only international gateway for Palestinians from the West Bank that does not require entering Israel, which has occupied the territory since 1967.

In September 2024, a Jordanian truck driver shot dead three Israeli guards at the crossing before he was killed.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP and AP)