Facts

• The death toll of Tuesday's rampage near Ghriba Synagogue in Tunisia's Djerba island — where hundreds of Jewish pilgrims were gathering — has risen to six, after a police officer died on Wednesday from his injuries.^[1]
• In the incident, a guard affiliated with the National Guard naval center in Aghir murdered a coworker before seizing ammunition and opening fire, killing two worshippers and a police officer. Security forces neutralized the assailant before he reached the entrance of the building.^[2]
• The death of the two pilgrims — a French national and a dual Israeli-Tunisian citizen — prompted France's Emmanuel Macron to commit to continue fighting "anti-Semitic hatred," and Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu to denounce the shooting in Africa's oldest synagogue, which was constructed roughly 2.5K years ago.^[3]
• While authorities have yet to state a motive behind the attack, Islamic militants have previously targeted the annual Djerba pilgrimage, which has had tight security since al-Qaeda killed 21 tourists at the event with a truck bomb in 2002.^[4]
• Tunisia’s Pres. Kais Saied, who made no reference to anti-semitism or terrorism, blamed the country's deadliest attack in years on criminals seeking to hit the tourism sector — a major source of foreign currency.^[5]
• The Jewish annual three-day Lag B’Omer festival has attracted around 6K Jewish pilgrims from around the world to Djerba, a Mediterranean island that is home to Tunisia’s largest Jewish community, comprised of 1.1K people.^[6]