(CNN) – Three Israeli border guards were killed in a shootout at the Allenby crossing, on the border between the occupied West Bank and Jordan, Israeli Emergency Services reported this Sunday.
The Israel Airports Authority, which manages the border terminal at the Allenby crossing with Jordan, told CNN that the three men who died worked at the crossing.
The identity of the attacker is unknown at this time, and the Jordanian Interior Ministry said it had launched an investigation.
The director of the crossing, Alex Chen, said the shooter was a Jordanian driver and added that the crossing has been closed until further notice. “The terrorist shot dead three Allenby terminal employees at point-blank range,” before being shot dead by a security guard, he said.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that “a terrorist approached the Allenby Bridge area from Jordan in a truck, exited the truck and opened fire on Israeli security forces operating on the bridge.”
“Three Israeli civilians were declared dead as a result of the attack,” the IDF said, adding that the attacker had been shot dead.
Israeli police spoke of “several victims at the scene” and also said that the shooter had “been neutralized.”
Sunday’s incident comes nearly two weeks after the Israeli military launched one of its most extensive operations in the West Bank in years, carrying out raids, razing roads and launching airstrikes in several parts of the occupied territory.
Clashes in the West Bank have become more frequent since Israel launched its war in Gaza in response to Hamas’ attack on southern Israel on October 7.
Israeli troops and settlers have killed nearly 700 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem since October, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry in Ramallah, whose figures do not distinguish between militants and civilians.
Jordan became the second Arab country to sign a peace agreement with Israel in 1994. It has been highly critical of Israel’s military operations in the West Bank and Gaza.
Jordan is a close ally of the United States, from which it receives significant military aid.
