Gunmen injure 38 Israelis

In two simultaneous attacks tonight, three Palestinian gunmen opened fire on pedestrians along a crowded promenade in Israel’s coastal town of Netanya, wounding at least 38 people before being shot dead, police said.

Israel TV said a fourth gunman escaped, and that there was an exchange of fire between him and police. One report said the attacker had run into a nearby hotel.

The Al Aqsa Brigades, linked to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s Fatah movement, claimed responsibility in a phone call to The Associated Press.

The gunmen opened fire from two different areas along the hotel-lined promenade. The shooting attack took place after the end of the Jewish Sabbath, a time when the area is crowded with pedestrians.

At least nine of the wounded bystanders, including a baby, were in a serious condition, doctors said.