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Construction Vehicle Attack Shatters Quiet in Jerusalem

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Israeli authorities say a man rammed a construction excavator into a bus in Jerusalem on Monday before he was shot dead by a police officer; hours later a gunman reportedly opened fire near Jerusalem’s Hebrew University, injuring a soldier before fleeing on a motorcycle.

The attacks came amid terrorism concerns in Israel arising from the nearly month-long war in Gaza. Officials in Gaza say 1,831 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed since Israel launched its offensive July 8 with the aim of eliminating the means of firing rockets from Gaza into Israel. Sixty-four Israeli soldiers and three civilians have been killed.

The driver of the construction vehicle killed a pedestrian Monday and then overturned the bus in what police described as a “terrorist attack,” Reuters reports. There were no passengers on the bus, but the images above reveal the destructive impact of the rampage.

Assailants in Israel have used construction vehicles in the past. In 2008, a Palestinian plowed a bulldozer into a Jerusalem bus, killing three and injuring dozens of others. Weeks later, a man in a bulldozer plowed into five cars and wounded more than 2o people.

Israeli policemen stand next to an overturned bus at the scene of a suspected attack in Jerusalem, Aug. 4, 2014.
Israeli policemen stand next to an overturned bus at the scene of a suspected attack in Jerusalem, Aug. 4, 2014.Siegfried Modola—Reuters
Residents gather at the scene of a suspected attack in Jerusalem, Aug. 4, 2014.
Residents gather at the scene of a suspected attack in Jerusalem, Aug. 4, 2014. Ammar Awad—Reuters
Israeli medics inspect a body at the scene of an attack in Jerusalem, Aug. 4, 2014.
Israeli medics inspect a body at the scene of an attack in Jerusalem, Aug. 4, 2014. Sebastian Scheiner—AP
A bus after a Palestinian man in an excavator into it on Aug. 4. 2014 in Jerusalem.
A bus after a Palestinian man in an excavator rammed into it on Aug. 4. 2014 in Jerusalem.Lior Mizrahi—Getty Images
Israeli forensic police inspect the bulldozer at the scene of attack in Jerusalem, Aug. 4, 2014.
Israeli forensic police inspect the bulldozer at the scene of attack in Jerusalem, Aug. 4, 2014. Abir Sultan—EPA
Ultra-Orthodox Jewish boys climb down a wall near the scene of a suspected attack in Jerusalem, Aug. 4, 2014.
Ultra-Orthodox Jewish boys climb down a wall near the scene of a suspected attack in Jerusalem, Aug. 4, 2014.Ammar Awad—Reuters
Onlookers inspect an overturned bus after a Palestinian man rammed an excavator into it, on Aug. 4, 2014 in Jerusalem, killing one person and lightly injuring five others.
Onlookers inspect an overturned bus after a Palestinian man rammed an excavator into it, on Aug. 4, 2014 in Jerusalem, killing one person and lightly injuring five others. Gali Tibbon—AFP/Getty Images
An Ultra Orthodox Jewish man prays near where a Palestinian man rammed an excavator into a bus on Aug. 4, 2014 in Jerusalem.
An Ultra Orthodox Jewish man prays near where a Palestinian man rammed an excavator into a bus on Aug. 4, 2014 in Jerusalem.Lior Mizrahi—Getty Images

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Write to Noah Rayman at noah.rayman@time.com