10 Dead In Tel Aviv Suicide Bombing
A Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up near a fast food restaurant in a bustling commercial area of Tel Aviv during the Jewish holiday of Passover on Monday, killing himself and nine other people and wounding at least 49 others, including several seriously, police and medics said.
A security guard posted outside the restaurant, which had been the target of a previous suicide bombing last January, prevented the bomber from entering the building, police said.
The bombing appeared to set the stage for a showdown between Israel and the Palestinians' new Hamas rulers, who called the attack a legitimate response to Israeli "aggression." Israel said it held Hamas ultimately responsible, even though a different militant group, Islamic Jihad, said it carried out the bombing.
It was the first suicide bombing in Israel since Hamas took over the Palestinian government 2½ weeks ago.
In other developments:
Later, Israeli police stopped a car carrying three Palestinians suspected of aiding the bomber in Monday's suicide bombing in Tel Aviv, officials said. The car, identified by witnesses at the scene of the attack, was stopped at a checkpoint on a highway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned Monday's suicide bombing in Tel Aviv as a "terrorist attack." In a statement, Abbas said the attack harms the Palestinians' national interest.
A Hamas spokesman called the suicide bombing a direct result of Israeli "aggression."
"We think that this operation ... is a direct result of the policy of the occupation and the brutal aggression and siege committed against our people," said Khaled Abu Helal, spokesman for the Hamas-led Interior Ministry.
Hamas and other militant groups have been observing a ceasefire with Israel for more than a year, though the new Hamas-led Palestinian leadership has refused to condemn attacks against Israelis.
Islamic Jihad has claimed responsibility for all six of the previous suicide attacks inside Israel since the ceasefire was declared.
On Sunday, the leader of Islamic Jihad, Ramadan Shallah, said the militant group was making "nonstop efforts" to infiltrate suicide bombers from the West Bank into Israel. "The nonstop crackdown against our resistance might limit this effort, but it's not going to stop it," he said in a statement posted on the group's Web site.
The bomber, identified by Islamic Jihad as Sami Salim Mohammed Hammed, from the West Bank town of Jenin, struck the same restaurant, "The Mayor's Felafel," that was hit by an attacker on Jan. 19. In that attack, 20 people were wounded. The restaurant is in the bustling Neve Shaanan neighborhood near Tel Aviv's central bus station which was crowded with holiday travelers.
Police said the restaurant had hired a security guard after the January bombing. The guard was apparently injured in Monday's blast.
Islamic Jihad released a video after Monday's bombing showing Hammed reading a statement saying the bombing was dedicated to the thousands of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
"There are many other bombers on the way," he said. Hammed, appearing to be in his mid to late teens, was dressed in black and wore a headband with yellow Quranic verses.
A witness, Israel Yaakov, said the blast killed a woman standing near her husband and children, who were lightly wounded.
"The father was traumatized, he went into shock. He ran to the children to gather them up and the children were screaming, 'Mom! Mom!' and she wasn't answering, she was dead already ... it's a shocking scene."
"I saw a young man starting to open his bag. The guard begins opening the bag, and then I heard a boom," 62-year-old Sonya Levy said.
"I was about to get into my car, and boom, there was an explosion. A bit of human flesh landed on my car and I started to scream," she said. Her car was 50 yards from the explosion and its windshield was smeared with blood.
The wounded were treated on sidewalks. One man was lying on his side, his shirt pushed up and his back covered by bandages. A bleeding woman was wheeled away on a stretcher. A dazed-looking man walked near the site, his white T-shirt splattered with blood.
The blast shattered the windshields of cars, and blew out the windows of nearby buildings. Glass shards and blood splattered the ground. The sign of the restaurant's building was blown away. Bottles and other debris were scattered up to 25 yards from the site of the blast.
While rescue crews tended to the wounded, a helicopter hovered overhead and a two marksmen took up a position on the roof of the targeted building. Teams sifted through debris looking for evidence and body parts.
The White House "condemns" suicide bombing in Israel in "the strongest possible terms," reports CBS News correspondent Peter Maer. Spokesman Scott McClellan called the attack "despicable" and said there is no excuse or justification for it.