Deadly Bomb Blast In Tel Aviv
In the second fatal strike against Israelis in as many days, a suicide bomb attack in Tel Aviv Wednesday evening killed at least seven people and wounded 30, police and witnesses said.
On Tuesday, Palestinians killed eight Israelis in an attack on a bus near a Jewish settlement in the West Bank — the first deadly assault on Israeli civilians in nearly a month. In that period, 44 Palestinians were killed.
Wednesday's attack took place on Neve Shaanan street in the southern part of the downtown area of Tel Aviv, near the old central bus station. Ambulances and police raced to the scene and closed off the area.
A witness said two suicide bombers blew themselves up a few seconds apart.
The neighborhood — which is a gathering point for recent immigrants to Israel — is crowded with small shops and stalls. Israel Radio reported the explosion occurred at the entrance to the Central Theater, near a cafe.
The area is crowded with small shops and stalls. Many foreign workers live in the rundown neighborhood. Israel Radio said most of the casualties were foreign workers.
A rescue service worker said 30 wounded people had been evacuated from the scene. An Israel Radio reporter at the scene said the six bodies there apparently included the suicide bombers. One of the wounded died at a hospital, Israel Radio reported.
Dutzu Raduyan, a worker from Romania, said he heard an explosion, and the lights in his nearby apartment went out. "Moments later we heard the second explosion. I went down" to the street, he said, and later described the scene. "It was horrible, dead people were everywhere and the injured were screaming. I've never seen such a thing in my life." Shaken, he said he would take his family back to Romania.
Israel blamed the Palestinian Authority, led by Yasser Arafat. "The Palestinian Authority continues to do nothing to stop the murderous attacks launched from its territory," said David Baker, an official in the Prime Minister's Office. "This attack in Tel Aviv proves that Palestinian terrorists are determined to murder, maim and terrorize as many Israelis as they can, thinking that by doing so they can pressure Israel into concessions," he told The Associated Press.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Also Wednesday, an Israeli soldier and a Palestinian died during a gunbattle that broke out as the Israeli military searched for the militants who attacked the bus.
In more than 21 months of fighting, 1,759 people have been killed on the Palestinian side, and 574 on the Israeli side.
The blast in Tel Aviv occurred shortly after an Israeli warplane bombed a Gaza metalworks Wednesday night, and Israel said the factory was used to make weapons for the militant Islamic group Hamas.
There were no injuries but the bomb did considerable damage, Palestinian residents said.
The factory was at the entrance to the Mughazi refugee camp in central Gaza. Resident Hassan Jabber said several Israeli F-16 warplanes circled over the area, and one dropped a bomb on the factory, causing a huge explosion.
In a statement, the Israeli military said the factory was used to make mortar bombs and rockets for Hamas. "Because of the increase in firing mortars in recent days, the factory was bombed as part of the war against terrorist infrastructure," the statement said.