Hamas kill three at bus stop in Jerusalem

Hamas claimed responsibility yesterday for a gun attack at a bus stop in west Jerusalem in which three Israelis were killed, prompting the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to pledge to eliminate the Palestinian group when the hostage releases end.

- Dan Sabbagh

The shooting yesterday morning overshadowed negotiations aimed at extending the existing truce in Gaza, but despite the attack, Egypt and Qatar remained hopeful of securing a two-day extension in return for the release of another 20 hostages and a further 60 Palestinians held in Israeli jails.

Two women, aged 24 and 65, and a man, 72, died after two gunmen, brothers from East Jerusalem, opened fire at about 7.40am with an assault rifle and a handgun, shooting at a crowd of people waiting on the western edge of the city. Thirteen others were injured, police said.

The gunmen were shot dead less than a minute later, after they had retreated to their car, by two off-duty soldiers and an armed civilian. Shortly after the deadly incident they were named by Israel's Shin Bet internal security agency as Hamas members Murad Namr, 38, and Ibrahim Namr, 30.

A few hours later, Hamas's armed wing, al-Qassam Brigades, claimed responsibility. A statement posted on the group's Telegram channel said the operation was in response "to the occupation's crimes of killing children and women in Gaza and the occupied West Bank".

Surveillance video footage showed two men rushing out of a car parked in front of the bus stop, brandishing guns. People fled in terror before the men retreated to the vehicle, where police said they were killed.

Media reports said that the women killed were Livia Dickman, a 24-yearold teacher who was pregnant, and Hanna Ifergan, a school principal aged 65. The man who was shot dead was Elimelech Wasserman, a rabbinical judge. An initial report that a 16-year-old girl had also been killed was incorrect.

Netanyahu said "Hamas murderers" had struck in Jerusalem and that it was "the same Hamas that perpetrated the terrible massacre on 7 October and the same Hamas that is trying to murder us everywhere".