Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived at the scene of the terror shooting in Jerusalem, stating that Israel is currently in an "intense war on several fronts," while speaking alongside National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, shortly after the attack took place on Monday morning.
At least six people were murdered and dozens were wounded after terrorists opened fire on civilians at the Ramot Junction in Jerusalem.
"We are in an intense war against terror on several fronts. I want to send condolences to the families of the dead and to the wounded," Netanyahu said at the scene of the attack.
"A pursuit and encirclement of the villages from which the terrorists came is underway. One of the people who killed the terrorist was an ultra-Orthodox soldier from the Hashmonaim Brigade," Netanyahu added.
He then stated that Israel will "take even harsher measures" on those who assisted and dispatched the terrorists.
"These murders, these attacks, on all fronts, they do not weaken us. They only increase our determination to complete the missions we have taken upon ourselves, in Gaza, in Judea and Samaria, everywhere," Netanyahu stated.
Netanyahu's criminal trial hearings at the Tel Aviv District Court, scheduled for Monday, were canceled after the terror shooting occurred.
Ben-Gvir speaks on High Court ruling at scene of terror attack
Ben-Gvir, speaking alongside Netanyahu, appeared to place the blame for the attack on a Sunday High Court ruling, which stated that the Israel Prison Service (IPS) has failed to provide adequate and nourishing food to security prisoners.
"When the High Court does something like this, it sends a message to the terrorists. I say to the High Court judges, don’t do this. Prison conditions add to deterrence," he continued.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) slammed the statements that Netanyahu and Ben-Gvir made at the scene.
"Netanyahu and Ben-Gvir will never change. While the victims still lie before us, the government is already blaming the judicial system, which, of course, did nothing to prevent this, instead of taking responsibility," Lapid stated.
"The opposition refrained from blaming the government for the terrible attack. We decided not to act as they did when we led the country in much safer days. Perhaps this is a political mistake, but in the face of the victims and the pain, we will not be like them," Lapid wrote in an X/Twitter post.
Israeli officials respond to the terror attack
Defense Minister Israel Katz vowed that the terror attack would have "severe and far-reaching consequences. We will pursue terror everywhere."
"Whoever gives shelter to terror and directs terror will pay the full price," Katz stated.
President Isaac Herzog said it was "a painful and difficult morning. Innocent civilians, women, men, and children were brutally murdered and wounded in cold blood on a bus in Jerusalem by vile and evil terrorists."
"In the face of this barbarity, we saw extraordinary acts of heroism which prevented even further loss of innocent lives," he continued.
"This shocking attack reminds us once again that we are fighting absolute evil. The world must understand what we are up against, and that terror will never defeat us," Herzog wrote in a post.
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar responded to the terror attack during a press conference with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto in Budapest. Sa'ar said the terror attack underscored the importance of rejecting current attempts "to force Israel to accept a Palestinian terror state in the heart of our tiny land."
"The terrorists this morning came from the Palestinian Authority territories," Sa'ar added.
"We are at war against radical Islamic terror. Europe, and every country in the world, must now make a clear and fateful choice: are they on the side of Israel, or on the side of the jihadists? We know that Hungary is on our side," Sa'ar said.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (Religious Zionist Party) stated that "the Palestinian Authority must disappear from the map, and the villages from which the terrorists came should look like Rafah and Beit Hanun [in the Gaza Strip]." He made the statement while in India, leading an Israeli economic delegation.
"Israel cannot accept a Palestinian Authority that raises and educates its children to murder Jews," he said.
MK Zvi Sukkot (Religious Zionist Party) went to the scene of the terror attack later on, stating that "Every village from which today’s terrorist came out should look like Rafah looks. The fate of Ramallah should be like that of Jabaliya."
Yisrael Beytenu head MK Avigdor Liberman responded by expressing his condolences and added that the haredi soldier from the Hashmonaim Brigade who killed one of the terrorists "prevented an even heavier massacre and saved lives."
Blue and White head MK Benny Gantz wrote in a post that "we must strike this murderous terror with strength and determination, in Judea and Samaria, in Gaza, and everywhere."
This is a developing story.