One attacker dead, two injured in gunfight outside Israeli consulate in Istanbul

One attacker was killed and two others were wounded in an extended gun battle with police outside the building housing the Israeli consulate in Istanbul on Tuesday, according to authorities and Reuters witnesses.

Police officers pulled out guns and took cover as shots rang out for at least 10 minutes near a permanent security checkpoint. .

Footage obtained by Reuters showed an apparent attacker, in a dark top and carrying a backpack, moving among parked white police and security buses and firing, with an automatic rifle and a handgun.

Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci said two of the attackers were brothers.

Two police officers were lightly wounded in the attack, Istanbul Governor Davut Gul told reporters at the scene.

He said there had been no Israeli diplomatic staff at the consulate for 2-1/2 years, since the Gaza war began in 2023.

The incident occurred next to a major motorway just after midday, immediately outside the tower where the Israeli consulate is located. The gunfire echoed inside nearby bank headquarters, where thousands of workers were breaking for lunch.

The Israeli foreign ministry confirmed there were no staff at the consulate at the time of the shootings.