Cross-border shooting: Jordanian truck driver kills Israelis at King Hussein Bridge

Report by Nada Andraos, English adaptation by Yasmine Jaroudi

In the second incident of its kind since Al-Aqsa flood and Israel's war on Gaza, a Jordanian truck driver shot three Israelis at the Allenby Bridge, also known as the King Hussein Bridge in Jordan and the Karameh Crossing on the Palestinian side, between Jordan and the West Bank.

The Israeli army reported that they killed the gunman, who had crossed from Jordan in a truck and opened fire on Israeli guards at the border. 

According to the preliminary investigation released by Israeli authorities, the driver arrived from the Jordanian side toward the shared unloading area. Upon reaching the Israeli workers, he retrieved a weapon from his truck and began shooting.

Following the attack, the King Hussein Bridge was closed in both directions until further notice. The Israeli army also shut down roads leading to the city of Jericho in the eastern West Bank.

This incident is seen as highly significant due to the strategic importance of the Jordanian sector, which is under the focus of Israeli security leadership. 

The Allenby Bridge is a critical crossing for goods, serving as a peaceful trade route between Jordan, the Jordan Valley, the West Bank, and Israel. The crossing is located near the Jordan Valley villages and Jericho.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commented on the attack, calling it "a difficult day" and claimed that Israel is "surrounded by a murderous ideology led by Iran's axis of evil."

In response to the attack, the Islamic Jihad movement praised the operation, calling it "the most genuine expression of the Jordanian people's pulse and that of the Arab and Muslim nations toward the enemy's massacres."