Israeli forces launched a manhunt for a suspect after he opened fire at the Barkan Industrial Park, killing two and injuring one. Palestinian group Hamas says the assault represents “a natural response” to Israeli “war crimes.”

Two of the three victims of the shooting succumbed to their injuries, Israeli media reported citing the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). The third one remains in the hospital in serious but non-life-threatening condition.

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The shooter fled the scene and the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), as well as the IDF, have deployed additional troops to the area to catch the perpetrator. He was identified as a Palestinian, Ashraf Abu Shaham, 23.

According to some local media reports, the suspected shooter worked at the same factory where the incident happened, but was fired from it at some point. The man allegedly left a suicide note with his friend, who worked at the same facility, several days before the shooting.

He is said to have no previous security-related record. Nevertheless, the IDF spokesman said the incident is being treated as a “terror attack, once hundred percent,” adding that the suspect wrote on his Facebook page earlier that he was “waiting for [Allah].” However, “there could be other reasons behind it.”

As part of a large-scale manhunt, IDF elite troops, counterterrorism units, and Shin Bet forces entered the village where the suspect is said to have lived. The Israeli leadership condemned the assault, calling it another roadblock on the way to peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

Palestinian militant group Hamas countered, saying the attack was “a natural response to the Israeli occupation’s crimes at the expense of the Palestinian people.” Tensions have been boiling for months in the West Bank and Gaza since the ‘Great March of Return’ protest in March.

Israel slashes Gaza fishing zone by 33% in retaliation for weekly protests https://t.co/B4H8P3u23C — RT (@RT_com) October 7, 2018

The situation deteriorated even more rapidly after the US’ decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem, effectively recognizing Israeli control over the city, which is sacred for both Palestinians and Israelis. Massive clashes on the opening day of the relocated diplomatic mission claimed the lives of nearly 60 Palestinian demonstrators and left hundreds injured. Many minors were among the casualties.

As the violence in Gaza has yet to subside, the head of an EU Parliament delegation, Neoklis Sylikiotis, told RT that Israel’s actions there are “a war crime.” He was not the first to condemn what has been happening in the enclave. As Tel Aviv blamed Hamas for the bloodshed, Human Rights Watch called Israel’s response “disproportionate and illegal” and warned that the use of “lethal force” against the Palestinians amounts to “war crimes.”

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