Turkish Embassy condemns deadly attack in Israel

ANKARA

The Turkish Embassy in Tel Aviv has denounced a deadly attack on Tuesday in a central Israeli city that left five people dead.

"We are saddened that at least 5 people lost their lives in the terrorist attack carried out on the evening of 29 March in Bnei Brak," the embassy said on Twitter Wednesday.

Turkiye is concerned that the escalating number of attacks in Israel could "drag the region back into conflict ahead of the upcoming month of Ramadan and Passover Holiday," it said.

The Muslim holy month of Ramadan starts in early April, while the Jewish Passover holiday starts in mid-April.

Turkiye extends its condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in Bnei Brak, as well as to the government and the people of Israel, and wishes a speedy recovery to the injured, the embassy added.

On Tuesday an assailant sprayed bullets at civilians with an automatic rifle, according to the local police; he was later neutralized by security forces.

This third deadly attack in recent weeks continues a spiral of violence in Israel. Four Israelis were killed in a knife attack in the city of Beersheba on March 22, and two other policemen were killed when two attackers opened fire in the city of Hadera on Sunday.

The first two cases were reportedly linked to the terror group Daesh/ISIS, which claimed the bloody attack in Hadera.