Israel closes its land border crossings with Jordan after deadly shooting incident

Israel on Sunday closed its land border crossings with Jordan after three of its civilians were shot dead at the Allenby Bridge, situated between the West Bank and Jordan.

According to Israeli officials, the assailant, who approached from the Jordanian side in a truck, opened fire on Israeli security forces and was subsequently killed in a shootout.

The victims were identified as Israeli civilians in their 50s by Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service. There was no immediate comment from Jordan.

The Allenby Bridge Crossing is primarily used by Israelis, Palestinians, and international tourists. Despite the longstanding peace treaty between Jordan and Israel since 1994, tensions remain high, particularly around Israeli policies toward the Palestinians.

The attack at the crossing comes amid an increased wave of violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank since Hamas’ attack on Israel from Gaza on October 7.

This conflict has led to a series of near-daily military raids by Israel into Palestinian residential areas, alongside a surge in violence from settlers and Palestinian attacks on Israelis.

In another incident on the same day in Gaza, an Israeli airstrike killed five people, including two women, two children, and a senior official from the Civil Defence.

The Civil Defence reported that the strike targeted the home of its deputy director for north Gaza, Mohammed Morsi, located in the Jabaliya refugee camp. The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the incident. The army maintains that its operations try to avoid civilian casualties and that its targets are militants.

Gaza’s health ministry has reported over 40,000 Palestinian deaths since the conflict began 11 months ago, though it does not distinguish between civilians and fighters. The ongoing war has displaced about 90% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million people, often multiple times.

Following Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7, which resulted in the deaths of approximately 1,200 people, mostly civilians, around 250 people were abducted by the militants. While most of the hostages have been exchanged for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel during a cease-fire last November, around 100 remain captive, with about a third of them presumed dead.

Efforts by the United States, Qatar, and Egypt to broker a cease-fire and facilitate the return of the remaining hostages have thus far been unsuccessful.

In the West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry reports that at least 691 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the war. While most were militants killed during Israeli operations, the death toll also includes civilian bystanders and rock-throwing protesters.

Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza, and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war.

Although Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, it continues to control its airspace, coastline, and most land crossings. After Hamas took control from rival Palestinian forces in 2007, Israel and Egypt imposed a blockade on Gaza.