Shooting attack at the West Bank-Jordan border crossing kills 3 Israelis

ALLENBY CROSSING, West Bank (AP) — Three Israelis were shot and killed Sunday at the border crossing between the West Bank and Jordan, Israeli officials said, in what appeared to be an attack linked to the 11-month-old war in Gaza.

Israel's military said the gunman approached the Allenby Bridge Crossing from the Jordanian side in a truck and opened fire at Israeli security forces, who killed him in a shootout. Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service said the three Israelis were men in their 50s and the military said they were civilians.

Relatives identified the gunman as Maher al-Jazi, a retired Jordanian soldier from Athroh, a town in the impoverished area of Maan. Jordan's state-run Petra News Agency said he was a truck driver transporting goods to the West Bank. The interior ministry confirmed that, based on initial investigation results, the incident was an individual act.

Jordan was investigating. The Western-allied Arab country made peace with Israel in 1994 but is deeply critical of its policies toward the Palestinians. Jordan has a large Palestinian population and has seen mass protests against Israel over the war in Gaza.

Hundreds of Jordanians marched in the streets of Amman to celebrate the attack, chanting slogans in support of al-Jazi and burning the Israeli flag.

“We bless this heroic operation carried out by this noble Jordanian hero,” said Murad Adaileh, head of the local Muslim Brotherhood Party. He added, addressing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: “There is no place for you in Palestine.”

The Allenby crossing over the Jordan River, also known as the King Hussein Bridge, is mainly used by Palestinians and international tourists, as well as for cargo shipments. The crossing has seen few security incidents over the years, but in 2014 Israeli security guards shot and killed a Jordanian judge who they said had attacked them.

The crossing was closed, and Israel announced the closure of both of its land crossings with Jordan, near Beit Shean in the north and Eilat in the south. It later said all would reopen on Monday.

Netanyahu condemned the attack and linked it to Israel's larger conflict with Iran and allied militant groups, including Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The Israeli-occupied West Bank has seen a surge of violence since Hamas' Oct. 7 attack out of Gaza triggered the war there. Israel has launched near-daily military arrest raids into dense Palestinian residential areas, and there has been a rise in Israeli settler violence and Palestinian attacks on Israelis.

Also on Sunday, loved ones mourned Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, an American-Turkish woman who was shot dead on Friday in the West Bank. She had been demonstrating against Israeli settlements there. The White House has said it was “deeply disturbed” and called on Israel to investigate, while her family seeks an independent investigation. Her body remained at a hospital in Nablus.

In Gaza, an Israeli airstrike killed five people, including two women, two children and a senior official in the Civil Defense — first responders who operate under the Hamas-run government. The Civil Defense said the strike targeted the home of its deputy director for northern Gaza, Mohammed Morsi, in the urban Jabaliya refugee camp.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. The army says it tries to avoid harming civilians and only targets militants.

Another Israeli strike hit the Eid family home in the Nuseirat refugee camp and killed at least two girls, according to an Associated Press journalist who counted the bodies and witnesses. First responders looked for others under the rubble.

Paltel, one of the territory's main telecom providers, said all household internet in central and southern Gaza was down because of ongoing attacks.

Gaza's Health Ministry says over 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war began. It does not differentiate between fighters and civilians in its count. The war has caused vast destruction and displaced around 90% of Gaza's population of 2.3 million, often multiple times.

Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in their Oct. 7 attack. They abducted another 250 and are still holding around 100 after releasing most of the rest in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel during a weeklong cease-fire last November. Around a third of the remaining hostages inside Gaza are believed to be dead.

The United States, Qatar and Egypt have spent months trying to broker a cease-fire and the return of the hostages, but the negotiations have repeatedly bogged down.

Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem — territories the Palestinians want for a future state — in the 1967 Mideast war. Israel withdrew soldiers and settlers from Gaza in 2005 but maintained control over its airspace, coastline and most of its land crossings. Along with Egypt, it imposed a blockade on Gaza after Hamas seized power from rival Palestinian forces in 2007.

Melzer reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press writers Samy Magdy in Cairo; Wafaa Shurafa in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip; Omar Akour in Amman, Jordan; and Melanie Lidman in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

Activists react next to the body of Turkish-American Aysenur Ezgi Eygi at the hospital morgue in Nablus, West Bank, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. Eygi, 26, died after being shot in the head on Friday, Palestinian doctors said. Witnesses to the shooting said the was fatally shot by Israeli forces in a moment of calm after clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces in the northern West Bank. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

Activists react next to the body of Turkish-American Aysenur Ezgi Eygi at the hospital morgue in Nablus, West Bank, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. Eygi, 26, died after being shot in the head on Friday, Palestinian doctors said. Witnesses to the shooting said the was fatally shot by Israeli forces in a moment of calm after clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces in the northern West Bank. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

Palestinians look at the body of Turkish-American Aysenur Ezgi Eygi at the hospital morgue in Nablus, West Bank, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. Eygi, 26, died after being shot in the head on Friday, Palestinian doctors said. Witnesses to the shooting said the was fatally shot by Israeli forces in a moment of calm after clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces in the northern West Bank. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

Israeli soldiers stand guard near the site of a deadly shooting attack where Israeli officials say three people were shot and killed at the Allenby Bridge Crossing between the West Bank and Jordan, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Israeli police stand guard near the site of a deadly shooting attack where Israeli officials say three people were shot and killed at the Allenby Bridge Crossing between the West Bank and Jordan, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Israeli police stand guard near the site of a deadly shooting attack where Israeli officials say three people were shot and killed at the Allenby Bridge Crossing between the West Bank and Jordan, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Israeli police stand guard near the site of a deadly shooting attack where Israeli officials say three people were shot and killed at the Allenby Bridge Crossing between the West Bank and Jordan, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Wall Street was mixed early Monday as optimism over a potentially big rate cut from the Federal Reserve this week boosted most sectors, with the exception of technology stocks.

Futures for the S&P 500 were unchanged before the bell, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked 0.2% higher. Futures for the technology-heavy Nasdaq tumbled 0.3%.

Apple was down 2.4% early, while chipmaker Micron was dragged down about 3%.

Stocks were broadly supported by the bond market, where Treasury yields eased ahead of the Fed’s meeting. The unanimous expectation on Wall Street is for the Fed to deliver the first cut to interest rates in more than four years on Wednesday, and traders are rekindling hopes it may offer bigger-than-usual relief.

Many economists would like to see the Fed announce a half-point rate cut this week, party because they think the officials should have begun cutting rates at their previous meeting in July. Wall Street traders on Friday signaled their expectation that the Fed will carry out at least two half-point cuts by year’s end, according to futures prices.

The Fed has been keeping its main interest rate at a two-decade high to slow the economy enough to stifle high inflation. With inflation having eased substantially from its peak two summers ago, the Fed has said it can focus more on bolstering the slowing job market and economy.

The Fed faces a balancing act in cutting rates. Lowering them relieves pressure on the economy but can also fuel more inflation. Reports last week showed some underlying upward pressure on prices. That initially pushed traders to ratchet back expectations for the size of the Fed’s upcoming move.

On Friday, though, traders were seeing roughly a coin flip’s chance that the Fed could deliver a large cut of half of a percentage point, instead of the more traditional quarter of a point, according to data from CME Group. The federal funds rate is currently sitting in a range of 5.25% to 5.50%.

Shares of Boeing were somewhat stable after Friday's decline, which was triggered by aircraft assembly workers who walked off the job. The ratings agency Fitch said a prolonged strike could lead to a ratings downgrade for the troubled aircraft manufacturer.

In Europe, France’s CAC 40 and Britain's FTSE 100 were flat at midday, while Germany’s DAX lost 0.2%.

In Asian trading, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng swung between gains and losses during the day, closing 0.3% higher at 17,422.12 after data released over the weekend showed China’s economy slowed further in August. Factory output, retail sales, and investment failed to meet expectations. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate unexpectedly surged to a six-month high, adding to challenges.

“The drums of a deepening economic slowdown are beating louder, and it’s time for China’s leadership to decide whether to step up or risk sliding further into stagnation,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.3% to 8,121.60.

Markets in Japan, mainland China and South Korea were closed for holidays.

In currency trading, the Japanese yen strengthened against the U.S. dollar, which fell to 140.03 yen from 140.82 yen. The dollar briefly dipped below 140 yen for the first time in more than a year. The euro cost $1.1124, inching up from $1.1076.

In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude gained 65 cents to $68.30 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, added 56 cents to $72.17 a barrel.

On Friday, the S&P 500 rose 0.5% for a fifth straight gain. It is just 0.7% below its all-time high set in July. Rallies for Microsoft, Broadcom and other big technology stocks helped it claw back almost all its recent losses, the worst in nearly 18 months.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 0.7% and the Nasdaq composite added 0.7%.

FILE - A currency trader passes by a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top center left, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, on Sept. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)

FILE - A person looks at an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm in Tokyo, on Sept. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)