Traffic is diverted on the road to the site where Israeli forces say they shot and killed two gunmen near Israel's side of the Dead Sea. AP
Traffic is diverted on the road to the site where Israeli forces say they shot and killed two gunmen near Israel's side of the Dead Sea. AP
Traffic is diverted on the road to the site where Israeli forces say they shot and killed two gunmen near Israel's side of the Dead Sea. AP
Traffic is diverted on the road to the site where Israeli forces say they shot and killed two gunmen near Israel's side of the Dead Sea. AP

Israel says two gunmen killed after entering from Jordan


Thomas Helm
  • English
  • Arabic

Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza

Israel’s military said it killed two gunmen who crossed from Jordan into Israeli territory south of the Dead Sea on Friday morning.

The men were killed after they shot at Israeli soldiers. Another operative “likely fled the scene” and the military said it had mounted a ground and air search operation.

Two Israeli soldiers, one of whom was a reservist, were lightly wounded in an exchange of fire with the attackers, the army said.

The gunmen were trying to enter the village of Neot HaKikar but were stopped by troops and members of the community’s security team, police said.

A photo purportedly taken at the scene shows a body clothed in what looks like a military uniform and desert military boots, while an Israeli soldier looks on. Authorities in neither Jordan nor Israel have released details about the gunmen’s identities. A Jordanian official, quoted by the state news agency Petra, dismissed claims in Israeli media that the men were members of Jordan's military.

“There is no truth to the claims spread by some Hebrew media that two Jordanian soldiers crossed the western border of Jordan,” the official was quoted as saying.

The Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan later told AFP that the two attackers who were killed were members of the group who “always participated in events in solidarity with Gaza and in support of the resistance”.

Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Moath Al Khawaldeh identified them as Hussam Abu Ghazaleh and Amer Qawoos.

The men appear to have each released a video message on social media before the attack in which they speak about the war in Gaza. The man who gave his name as Hussam Abu Ghazaleh said he had always wanted to join Ezzedine Al Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas. The man in the other video gave his name as Amer Abu Obeid.

Israel’s largest border by far is shared with Jordan and the countries have close security ties, but tensions have been high over the Gaza war, with Jordanian officials repeatedly criticising Israel's actions.

In September, a Jordanian lorry driver killed three Israelis at the Allenby Bridge crossing that links Jordan with the occupied West Bank. The attacker was killed at the scene.

More than half of Jordan’s population is of Palestinian origin and one in five are registered as Palestinian refugees.

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Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
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Investment raised: $4 million 
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Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster who has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others.

Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.

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8 UAE companies helping families reduce their carbon footprint

Greenheart Organic Farms 

This Dubai company was one of the country’s first organic farms, set up in 2012, and it now delivers a wide array of fruits and vegetables grown regionally or in the UAE, as well as other grocery items, to both Dubai and Abu Dhabi doorsteps.

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Modibodi  

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The Good Karma Co

From brushes made of plant fibres to eco-friendly storage solutions, this company has planet-friendly alternatives to almost everything we need, including tin foil and toothbrushes. 

www.instagram.com/thegoodkarmaco

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www.shopretold.com

Lush

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www.mena.lush.com

Bubble Bro 

Offering filtered, still and sparkling water on tap, Bubble Bro is attempting to ensure we don’t produce plastic or glass waste. Founded in 2017 by Adel Abu-Aysha, the company is on track to exceeding its target of saving one million bottles by the end of the year.

www.bubble-bro.com

Coethical 

This company offers refillable, eco-friendly home cleaning and hygiene products that are all biodegradable, free of chemicals and certifiably not tested on animals.

www.instagram.com/coethical

Eggs & Soldiers

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Based: Abu Dhabi

Founded: 2017

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Sector: Aviation and space industry

Funding: $250,000

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Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B

Fixtures:

Wed Aug 29 – Malaysia v Hong Kong, Nepal v Oman, UAE v Singapore
Thu Aug 30 - UAE v Nepal, Hong Kong v Singapore, Malaysia v Oman
Sat Sep 1 - UAE v Hong Kong, Oman v Singapore, Malaysia v Nepal
Sun Sep 2 – Hong Kong v Oman, Malaysia v UAE, Nepal v Singapore
Tue Sep 4 - Malaysia v Singapore, UAE v Oman, Nepal v Hong Kong
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Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe

Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010

Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille

Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm

Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year

Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”

Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners

TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013 

Updated: October 19, 2024, 2:36 PM`