6 people killed in Tel Aviv shooting attack

Six civilians were killed on Tuesday in a shooting in Tel Aviv, local police said, as tensions between Israel and Iran-backed terrorist groups in the region have dramatically escalated in recent days and weeks.

At least nine people were injured in the attack, which took place in the Jaffa neighborhood of Tel Aviv. Two shooters were “neutralized,” police said.

Israeli TV footage showed medics and paramedics at a light rail station, The Associated Press reported, adding that bodies were seen on the ground, covered with black sheets.

No group immediately claimed credit for the attack, The New York Times reported. But shortly after the shooting, Iran launched dozens of missiles into Israel, in a dramatic escalation of the confrontation between Israel and Iran’s proxies.

Iran’s missile barrage sent Israelis running to their bomb shelters, the AP reported, as air raid sirens sounded throughout the country.

Israel said it would retaliate against Iran’s missile barrage, noting Israel said the missiles had only caused a few injuries.

The White House acknowledged reports of the attack in the daily briefing on Tuesday.

“We are also aware of reports of a terrorist attack in Jaffa that took the lives of a number of Israeli civilians and wounded several others,” said national security adviser Jake Sullivan.

The conflict between Israel and Iran has rarely resulted in direct confrontations between the two countries. Iran backs numerous militant groups in the region that engage directly with Israel.

Tensions have sharpened recently, as Israel launched a series of attacks that killed many Hezbollah leaders, including the decades-long leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike last week.