1 dead, 7 injured in Tel Aviv attack

By Enes Canli

JERUSALEM (AA) - A tourist was killed and seven others injured Friday in a shooting and ramming attack in the Israeli capital of Tel Aviv, according to reports.

An attacker opened fire and killed one person while driving a vehicle along the coastal road in central Tel Aviv.

The slain victim was an Italian tourist, according to Israeli media.

Israeli police said the vehicle hit pedestrians in the Tel Aviv promenade and "a police officer who was at a nearby gas station heard a noise and noticed a vehicle overturned, as well as several people lying on the floor.

"The police officer approached the car together with the Tel Aviv municipality inspectors and noticed that the driver was trying to reach for a weapon he had in his possession," it wrote on Twitter.

The officer and inspectors "neutralized" the attacker, it added.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered an increase in security forces, according to a statement from his office.

Earlier, two settlers were killed and one was seriously injured in an armed attack on a vehicle in a Jewish settlement near the Jordan Valley in the occupied West Bank.

- What happened?

The intervention of Israeli police against Muslim worshippers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex by using disproportionate force with sound bombs, rubber-coated bullets and batons for two consecutive nights escalated tensions in occupied East Jerusalem.

Early Friday, the Israeli army said rockets were fired from Lebanon to the northern regions of the country and warning sirens were activated.

The Israeli foreign ministry said 34 rockets were launched in the attack and the army announced that three mortar shells were fired from Lebanon to the north in the evening.

Israel said the rocket attacks were carried out by Hamas elements stationed in Lebanon and blamed Hamas. Israel announced it launched airstrikes on Gaza in response to rockets fired from the enclave.