A Police Officer Killed and Four Injured in a Terrorist Attack in Israel

An officer has died and four others were injured in a terrorist attack on Tuesday on a highway south of Tel Aviv. The suspect opened fire on cars at two points on Highway 4, near the Yavne junction and the Nir Galim junction, near Ashdod, 35 kilometers from the capital.

The terrorist arrived on foot and began walking along the road near an intersection, according to local media reports. It is unclear whether he reached a stopped police car and then opened fire, or if the officer stopped the vehicle next to him to investigate.

He then opened fire with a pistol, seriously injuring the officer. He then began shooting at citizens in nearby cars.

The shooting victim was a police officer in his 30s, who was taken to Assuta Hospital in Ashdod in critical condition with gunshot wounds to the chest, and the medical center could do nothing to save his life.

Earlier, the terrorist had shot at a vehicle at the Nir Galim junction, near Ashdod, and the driver, a 42-year-old man, was injured by glass. Authorities reported three other minor injuries, including a doctor who was hit by a vehicle while attending to one of the injured, and another 37-year-old man, seriously injured by a gunshot to the thigh.

The terrorist was shot dead by an armed civilian who stopped his car and shot him to death. The man, a volunteer paramedic, recounted his version of events to the Israeli press: "I was driving and saw an armed man standing on the road. At first, I thought he was a policeman, but then I was shot at. I ducked, jumped out of the vehicle, drew my weapon, and shot him."

Security forces are combing the area for possible victims or a second accomplice and have begun an investigation to clarify the causes of this incident.