Hadera, Israel — A Palestinian gunman late Thursday walked into a banquet hall in northern Israel and opened fire with an assault rifle, killing six people and injuring 30 during a bat mitzvah, police said. A militant group claimed responsibility for the attack, the deadliest in more than a month.
About 100 people were inside the hall celebrating a girl's coming of age. Several people beat the attacker with a chair and bottles and pushed him outside where he was shot and killed by police. Among the dead was the grandfather of the girl for whom the party was honoring.
"The terrorist came in the main door with an M-16 at the height of the event and started shooting everywhere," said Shimon Asraf, one of owners of David's Palace hall.
The attacker's death brought the total number of dead to seven, said police spokesman Gil Kleiman.
Moti Hasson said he was dancing when he heard the shooting.
"When I saw the Arab I ran toward him with a chair," said Hasson, a truck driver. "I threw the chair at him."
Hasson said he hit the attacker in the face with the chair while other people threw bottles at him.
The Al Aqsa Brigades, a militia linked to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah coalition, claimed responsibility in a phone call to The Associated Press.
It was the deadliest single attack in the region since Arafat announced a cease-fire Dec. 16, after more than a year of clashes between Israelis and Palestinians.
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