Washington: Two Israeli embassy employees shot dead

Two employees of the Israeli embassy in the US capital, Washington, were killed near the Jewish Museum. One suspect has already been arrested .

According to U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, two employees of the Israeli embassy were killed near the Jewish Museum in Washington on Wednesday evening. The suspected perpetrator has already been arrested, according to Capitol Police Commissioner Pamela Smith. The victims of the attack, a man and a woman, were leaving the Jewish Museum after an event when the perpetrator opened fire on them. After his arrest, the perpetrator began shouting the pro-Palestinian slogan "Free Palestine." The arrested suspect is a man from Chicago, Illinois. He was observed walking around the museum before the shooting and entered afterward, but was stopped by security personnel.

According to reports, the victims are Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim. Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter reported that the two were a young couple who were about to get engaged. Leiter told reporters that the man had bought a ring this week and planned to propose to his girlfriend in Jerusalem next week.

"They were a lovely couple who had come to enjoy an evening in Washington's cultural center," the ambassador said. They had just left an event at the museum when the gunman began his attack.

US President Donald Trump strongly condemned the attack. "These horrific killings in Washington, clearly rooted in anti-Semitism, must stop, now!" he wrote on the online platform Truth Social. Hate and radicalism have no place in the United States. Trump expressed his condolences to the victims' families.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called it a "brazen act of cowardly, anti-Semitic violence." He condemned it "in the strongest possible terms," he wrote on X. Prayers were with the families.

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How Israel reacts

Israeli President Yitzhak Herzog expressed his horror at the incident. "I am shocked by the scenes in Washington, D.C. This is a despicable act of hatred and anti-Semitism that claimed the lives of two young Israeli embassy employees," Herzog said in a statement.

"We stand with the Jewish community in DC and across the United States ," he declared. "America and Israel will stand together in defense of our people and our shared values. Terror and hatred will not break us," Herzog said.

Israeli UN Ambassador Danny Danon called it a " heinous act of anti-Semitic terrorism." "We are confident that the US authorities will take strict action against those responsible for this criminal act," Danon wrote in a post on X.