Israel: Death toll rises to five Israelis, two gunmen

Five Israelis were killed and dozens wounded in the north Israel town of Beit Shean.

Two gunmen were killed in a protracted gun battle with police and armed bystanders, and a third remained holed up in a house near the Likud office, firing sporadically, police said. Security forces surrounded the building.

“They fired hundreds of bullets,” said the mayor of Beit Shean, Pini Caballo.

“It began in the area of the bus terminal that is adjacent to the Likud branch,” he said. ”From there, they went to the Likud branch and saw the crowds and fired in all directions and hit many people.”

Israel Radio said the Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade, a militia linked to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s Fatah movement, claimed responsibility.

The report said the attack was carried out to avenge the deaths of two militia leaders in an explosion in the West Bank refugee camp of Jenin earlier in the week.