Gunman reportedly attacked a police patrol in the Rabiah neighborhood of Amman
Three law enforcement officers were wounded in a shootout around dawn near the Israeli Embassy in Amman, the Jordan News Agency (Petra) reported on Sunday. The suspected gunman was shot dead.
The incident unfolded when the suspect opened fire on a police patrol and then attempted to flee the scene, the agency said, citing Jordan’s Public Security Directorate.
Officers engaged the attacker in a firefight, during which the gunman was killed, Petra reported.
تغطية صحفية: سماع إطلاق نار في محيط سفارة الاحتلال في العاصمة عمان مع تواجد أمني مكثف pic.twitter.com/Ompju7JX31
Loud gunfire echoed through the neighborhood, and numerous emergency services vehicles were visible at the scene in videos circulating on social media that purported to show the incident.
🚨 Initial report: gunfire was heard near the Israeli embassy in Jordan, local security forces are scanning the scene. pic.twitter.com/sj28SA776Z
Amman has seen a number of pro-Palestinian protests over the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza since October 7, 2023. A significant percentage of Jordan’s 11.5 million population is Palestinian, many with ties across the Jordan River in the neighboring West Bank. According to UNRWA data, there are at least 2.39 million registered Palestinian refugees living in the country.
The Israeli ambassador to Amman left the country due to security concerns at the beginning of the Gaza war following the deadly Hamas raid on October 7, 2023. Jordan recalled its ambassador in November of last year in protest of West Jerusalem’s methods of war in the besieged enclave.