Arab gunman kills at least five in Israel

STORY: Five people were shot dead on Tuesday on the outskirts of Tel Aviv, according to medics, in what marks the third deadly attack of its kind in Israel - within a week.

The attack was in the town of Bnei Brak, a Jewish ultra-Orthodox city on the outskirts of Israel’s commercial capital.

The gunman was shot dead by police, according to a paramedic at the scene.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the violence.

Bnei Brak resident – Orit Levi – described the attack:

“I came to the window and saw the terrorist right in front of the building with a big M-16 rifle. In that exact second, I pulled my two children. The shooting didn’t stop. The house was simply shaking. There were three different locations, you could hear it from all sides. The neighbours were yelling, ‘Terror attack! Terror attack!’ I went into the room and we took shelter."

The shooting brings the total number of people killed by Arab gunmen in Israel to eleven over the past week – the sharpest spike in attacks on city streets in years.

The Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said his country was facing a wave of murderous attacks:

“We are at the start of a challenging time. We have been hit by terrorism, from the beginning of Zionism. They did not break us then and they will not break us today. The secret of our existence is the mutual guarantee between us, our determination to protect the home we build, at all costs. Citizens of Israel, this time we will also win.”

Palestinian Wafa news agency reported that President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the killing of Israeli civilians.

Israeli officials had cautioned about a surge in assaults in the run-up in April to the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, a period in which violence has surged in the past.