JERUSALEM (AFP) – Hamas's armed wing claimed responsibility on Wednesday for the killing of seven people in a shooting and stabbing attack in Israel's commercial hub Tel Aviv the previous day.
The attack -- one of the deadliest in the country since the October 7 Hamas onslaught -- came as Iran fired about 200 missiles at Israel, sending hundreds of thousands of people into public shelters.
"The Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades takes responsibility for the heroic Jaffa operation carried out by the fighters from the (occupied West Bank) city of Hebron," the group said in a statement, referring to the attack near the Tel Aviv light rail station in Jaffa on Tuesday.
"The attack coincided with the painful strikes in the heart of the entity (Israel)... executed by Iran," it said, referring to Tuesday evening's missile barrage.
The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades named the attackers as Mohammed Misk and Ahmed al-Haimoni, who managed to "infiltrate into our occupied lands".
Israel and Hamas have been at war in Gaza since October 7 when the Palestinian militant group carried out its attack on Israel that resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Israel's retaliatory military campaign has killed at least 41,689 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. The United Nations has said the figures are reliable.
Earlier on Wednesday, Israeli police said seven people had been killed in the Jaffa attack, with one of the victims succumbing to his wounds overnight.
On Tuesday, Israeli police said 17 others had been wounded.
FOREIGNERS AMONG DEAD
Police said the alleged assailants "began their killing spree when they entered the carriage of the light rail train that stopped at the station and fired at passengers".
They were armed with an assault rifle and a knife, and continued on foot until police "neutralised" them, it added.
One of the attackers was shot dead and the other was seriously wounded, police added.
Overnight, the Israeli security agency and the army arrested several suspects in Hebron and Jerusalem believed to have aided the suspects.
Israeli media identified three of the dead as Israelis and one as Georgian. The others were Greek and Moldovan, their governments said.
The identity of the seventh victim has not been released.
Palestinian militants have carried out several attacks on Israelis since October 7, killing at least 23, according to Israeli official figures.
Violence in the West Bank has also surged. Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 682 people in raids or attacks in the territory since October 7, according to Palestinian health ministry figures.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967, and its troops regularly make incursions into Palestinian towns and cities, which often result in heavy clashes.