The woman killed in the shooting attack was Monica Patricia Teran Navarrete, aged 33.

The gunman, who slipped through the Jordanian border terminal, fired a number of bursts of automatic fire before Israeli security guards at the site killed him in no-man's land some 20 meters from the Israeli side of the Yitzhak Rabin Crossing.

The gunman, Ahmed Jahid, 37, a Palestinian from Jordan, arrived at the Jordanian terminal in a truck delivering calves from Aqaba to the Palestinian Authority. He got out of his truck, which he parked some 50 meters from the Israeli side, carrying a Kalashnikov rifle concealed under a blanket.

At this stage he aroused the suspicion of one of the security guards, who watched him closely.

At about 10:40 A.M., Jahid drew his rifle out and ran toward a group of 29 tourists from Ecuador about to cross from Jordan to Israel. He shot five of the tourists. The security guard fired a few shots at the gunman and was then joined by a second guard. Together they attacked the terrorist and killed him at short range.

Navarrete was airlifted in critical condition from Eilat to Soroka Medical Center in Be'er Sheva where she later died from her wounds.

"We heard the shooting, at first we lay down on the floor, then we tried to evacuate the tourists," said a border crossing worker, who refused to give her name. "We have been trained for something like this, but I never imagined it could really happen," she said.

Senior officers told Haaretz that the check up on truck drivers on the Jordanian side yesterday was very negligent, if carried out at all. From now on Jordanian trucks will not be allowed into the area between the terminals in groups and will be separated from entering laborers, the officers said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. Jordan condemned the attack, saying the gunman had acted alone. "This was an individual act by a sole gunman," Minister of State and government spokeswoman Asma Khader told Reuters.

"We condemn this incident and Jordan's stance is clear against any acts of violence that target civilians," she added. Khader said the gunman was a Jordanian truck driver, a resident of Zarqa - a predominantly Palestinian city 27 kilometers northeast of the Jordanian capital, Amman, and said that Jordanian troops had searched his home.

However Khader said no arrests had been made.

The casualties of the terror attack were part of a group of 39 Ecuadorean pilgrims touring Middle East holy sights, said Yossi Zeldish, an official from Palmer Tours who organized their trip.

The pilgrims were returning from Jordan and were due to cross into Egypt today to visit the Santa Katerina Monastery in the Sinai desert, he said.

The rest of the group was taken to Eilat's Nova hotel and city psychologists and social workers were helping them deal with the trauma.

Israeli security forces launched a search of the area, fearing more terrorists may have been involved in the incident. The initial investigation into the attack revealed Israeli security officials at the border crossing acted according to regulations.

"Come and See" notes that the pastor who was leading the group was also wounded. In an interview with Israeli's Channel 10 news, he said that he wanted to say something to the shooter "I bless you ,love you and forgive you".