Arab-Israeli gunman kills one, wounds five in central Israel shooting; police kill attacker

A Palestinian man with Israeli citizenship carried out shootings at multiple locations in central Israel on June 7, 2026, killing one person and wounding five others before being shot dead by police, according to Israeli authorities. The incidents began at a gas station near Kochav Yair, where a 35-year-old Israeli man was shot dead inside a vehicle.

An ambulance team led by Lior Zilberberg responded after civilians flagged them down. Zilberberg pronounced the man dead at the scene, finding him pulseless, not breathing and with multiple gunshot wounds. The same team treated a second casualty nearby who remained conscious with upper-body wounds and was evacuated to hospital.

Magen David Adom medics treated two additional men in their 30s at the Kochav Yair gas station. The five wounded were taken to two hospitals, two of them in serious condition.

Police identified the gunman as a man in his 20s from the Arab town of Taybeh. They said he carried out the shootings at three locations, including sites in Tzur Yitzhak and Tzur Natan and near the settlement of Salit inside the West Bank. Officers killed the gunman at the scene.

Police also arrested a suspected accomplice who they said may have served as the driver; the accomplice was detained after attempting to stab officers with a glass bottle.

Authorities ordered residents to remain indoors and kept children in local schools under lockdown for at least three hours. Israel Police are treating the incidents as a terror attack and said the circumstances remain under investigation. The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed it was assessing the shootings.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir addressed reporters at the scene. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for profound change among Israel’s Arabs.

Hamas praised the shooting as a response to Israeli actions in Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem but did not claim responsibility.

Separately on the same day, at least four Palestinians were killed and ten others wounded in an Israeli airstrike that hit a police location in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent. The dead were taken to a Red Crescent field hospital.

In a Cabinet meeting, Netanyahu repeated his pledge to take 70 percent of Gaza, stating that Israel currently holds more than 60 percent of the territory. A Board of Peace that oversees the ceasefire said last month that further steps remain stalled over the issue of disarming Hamas.