Dad left distraught after daughters, 21 and 15, are killed in West Bank ‘terror attack’ shooting with mum, 48, hurt

A DAD has been left distraught after his two British daughters were killed in a suspected terror attack in Israel.

The victims - a 15-year-old girl and a woman in her 20s - died at the scene after their car was ambushed by gunmen then rammed by another vehicle in the West Bank.

Their mother, 48, was also seriously injured when their car was attacked near the Hamra settlement, about 30 miles north of Jerusalem.

The family is understood to have moved from the UK to Israel in 2005 and settled in Efrat, near the Palestinian city of Bethlehem.

It was believed to be a cowardly and indiscriminate revenge strike launched as tensions spiralled following police raids on the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

Gunmen are believed to have targeted the car simply because it bore Israeli registration plates.

A US national was also recently shot dead in similar circumstances.

The sisters were in a car that came under fire and was then rammed.

Pictures showed white and red cars with serious front end damage following what appeared to be a high speed collision.

The sisters died at the scene and their mother was airlifted to hospital in a "very critical condition".

Sources in Israel confirmed that the sisters were both originally from London and were aged 15 and 21.

Their father - who attended university in the UK - had been in a separate car travelling ahead of the women but realised there had been an altercation behind him.

He drove back to the scene fearing his family had been involved in a traffic accident then realised the car had come under fire.

Police later reported the vehicle in which the British family was travelling had been riddled with a volley of 22 Kalashnikov assault rifle bullets, leaving blood spattered on the windscreen.

The distraught dad - who has not been identified - was being comforted by family members and friends.

The Magen David Adom (MDA) ambulance service said its medics initially responded to a vehicle collision on the Route 57 highway in the northern Jordan Valley, near the Hamra Junction, close to the settlement of the same name.

When medics and troops reached the scene, the car was found to be riddled with bullet holes.

Ambulencemen said two women were declared dead at the scene, and a woman who was critically hurt in the attack was taken to Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital in Jerusalem by helicopter.

Doctors said she had suffered bullet wounds to her upper body and confirmed she remained “critical”.

The Israel Defense Force said the shooting was a terror attack and had launched a manhunt for the gunmen and other suspects who fled the scene.

A military spokesman said: “IDF forces are blocking roads in the area and have begun a pursuit of the terrorists.”.

The mayor of the Efrat settlement, Oded Revivi confirmed the two dead women were sisters, and their mother was the third victim.

He said the father had been driving a separate car ahead of the rest of the family, and turned around following the attack and saw medics tending his wife and fatally wounded daughters.

Initial investigations suggested the gunmen first opened fire at the Israeli-owned car before it crashed into the highway’s shoulder.

The terrorists then opened fire at the car again, killing two of the occupants and critically wounding the third.

Troops combing the area later found 22 7.62mm shell casings, typically used in rifles.

Surveillance camera footage showed the terrorists driving up to the victims’ car, with one man opening fire from the passenger seat.

The car with the gunmen then made a U-turn on the highway and fled the scene.

A foreign office spokeswoman said: "We are saddened to hear about the deaths of two British-Israeli citizens and the serious injuries sustained by a third individual.

“The UK calls for all parties across the region to de-escalate tensions.”