Israel Hunts Attacker Who Killed Three In Elad, PM Bennett: We Will Arrest Terrorists

Israel Police Illustrations. (Wikimedia Commons / Israel Police Spokeswoman)

JAKARTA - Israeli security authorities launched a manhunt for the attacker who killed three people in the central city of Elad, 25 kilometers from Tel Aviv.

The latest incident of violence occurred as Israel was celebrating its independence day last Thursday, where the anniversary had been held the day before.

Security personnel, backed by helicopters and drones, set up road barricades as they searched for what police described as one or two terrorists, who remained in the hours after the attack.

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz announced steps to stop the attackers from escaping and traveling to the West Bank. No details about the alleged attackers have been released.

Gantz announced that the closure of the West Bank, a measure that allowed Israel's Independence Day celebrations to take place, would remain in effect until Sunday.

Meanwhile, emergency response services Magen David Adom, who confirmed the deaths, said four others were injured in the incident, which came after a series of fatal attacks carried out by Palestinians and Arab Israelis in recent weeks.

"We will catch the terrorists and make sure they pay the price," said Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.

Separately, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said "the joy of independence day was cut short", as he condemned the "murder attack in Elad".

Prior to Thursday's incident, a series of attacks had killed 15 people since March 22, including an Arab-Israeli police officer and two Ukrainians, in separate attacks inside Israel.

Two of the deadly attacks are known to have been carried out in the Tel Aviv area by Palestinians.

Meanwhile, as many as 27 Palestinians and three Arab Israelis died in the same period, including the perpetrators of the attacks and those killed by Israeli security forces in West Bank operations.

Specific information about how Thursday's violence unfolded was unclear, but some Israeli media reports said the assailants were carrying knives or axes. Other reports suggest the attackers had used firearms.

Paramedic Alon Rizkan described it as a complex scene, identifying the dead victim as a male in his early 40s.

To note, the majority of Elad's 50,000 residents are members of Israel's ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, known as haredim. Hundreds of them gathered after the attack, wearing crisp white shirts amid a swarm of medical and police personnel.