Aid driver kills two Israeli military personnel at Jordan border crossing before being killed by security

No group immediately claimed responsibility for what Israel denounced as a “terror attack” at the only gateway for Palestinians from the Israeli-occupied West Bank to Jordan.

“The driver accused of the operation is Abdul Mutalib al-Qaisi, born in 1968. He is a civilian who began working as a driver delivering aid to Gaza three months ago,” Jordan’s foreign ministry said.

Israel’s ambulance service said the two Israelis succumbed to their wounds while the attacker was shot dead by security personnel.

Jordan said an investigation would be opened, calling the shootings a threat to its humanitarian role in Gaza.

Israeli chief of staff Eyal Zamir advised the government to halt the entry of humanitarian aid from Jordan until the completion of an inquiry into the incident, and the implementation of revised screening procedures for Jordanian drivers, the military said. Earlier this month, Palestinian militant group Hamas claimed responsibility for a shooting on the outskirts of Jerusalem that killed six people.

In September 2024, a gunman from Jordan also killed three Israelis at the Allenby Crossing before being shot dead by security forces.

The U.N. Security Council is set to vote on a resolution Thursday that would once again demand an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages while expressing alarm about a recent famine report and Israel’s expanding offensive in Gaza City.

Diplomats at the United Nations said the United States will likely veto the effort, as they have done for similar resolutions in the past year, including the last effort in June.

The resolution, drafted by the council’s 10 elected members who serve two-year terms, goes further than previous drafts to highlight what diplomats call the “ deepening of suffering ” of Palestinian civilians in the nearly two-year war in the Gaza Strip.

It also reiterates demands in previous resolutions, including for the release of all hostages held by Hamas and other groups following their Oct. 7, 2023, surprise attack in southern Israel that launched the war in Gaza.

In opposing similar resolutions since November, the U.S. has complained that the demands, including a ceasefire, were not directly linked to the release of hostages and would only embolden Hamas militants.

Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the U.N., blasted the new resolution, saying that it would “not release the hostages and will not bring security to the region.”

“Israel will continue to fight Hamas and protect its citizens, even if the Security Council prefers to turn a blind eye to terrorism,” he said in a statement Thursday.

All 14 other members of the council are expected to vote in favor of the resolution, which described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as “catastrophic” and called on Israel to lift all restrictions on the delivery of aid to the 2.1 million Palestinians in the territory.

The resolution also expressed “deep alarm” after a report released last month by the world’s leading authority on food crises said Gaza City has become gripped by famine, and that it’s likely to spread across the territory without a ceasefire and an end to restrictions on humanitarian aid.