Bloody wave of attacks in Israel: Two dead in shooting in Tel Aviv

Bloody wave of attacks in Israel
Two dead in Tel Aviv shooting

Israel is experiencing the worst wave of violence in 16 years. Two people die and several are injured in an attack in Tel Aviv. Security forces are said to have exchanged gunfire with an assassin. It is unclear whether the Islamic State is again responsible for the terrorist act.

At least two people were killed in an attack in the center of the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv in the evening, according to paramedics. Eight other people sustained gunshot wounds. The Ichilov Hospital in the Israeli metropolis reported that it had taken in ten people injured in the attack. Two of the people died despite all medical efforts, four others were in mortal danger and underwent emergency surgery. An assassin shot at patrons of a pub on busy Dizengoff Street, police said. Security forces were looking for the perpetrator.

The rescue service Zaka reported that security forces exchanged gunfire with the assassin. Sirens could be heard again and again in the city center, and a police helicopter circled the area. The background to the crime was initially unknown.

Witnesses said they heard gunshots. They reported chaotic scenes in central Tel Aviv. “There is a wartime atmosphere, with soldiers and police officers everywhere. People are crying and running in all directions,” said Binyamin Blum, who works at a restaurant near the site of the attack. The security forces asked people to stay in their homes. The “incident” is still ongoing, the police said. The suspects are still being sought.

US Ambassador Tom Nides tweeted that he was “appalled to see another cowardly terrorist attack on innocent civilians, this time in Tel Aviv.” He demanded: “This must stop!” A leading member of Hamas, the Islamist Palestinian organization that rules the Gaza Strip, Mushir al-Masri welcomed the attack. He proves “how deeply the resistance can penetrate the Israeli security system”. A Hamas spokesman said it was a continuation of the recent series of attacks.

IS claims attack in the north for itself

There have been a number of attacks in Israel and the West Bank in recent weeks. In Bnei Brak near Tel Aviv, a Palestinian attacker killed five people at the end of March, including two ultra-Orthodox Jews, two Ukrainians who had lived in Israel for a long time, and an Israeli-Arab police officer. Just a few days earlier, two police officers were killed in the northern Israeli city of Hadera. The jihadist militia Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for this attack.

Because of the wave of attacks, the Israeli police arrested a total of 50 suspected IS supporters on Monday. The domestic intelligence agency Shin Bet is taking care of the suspects, public broadcaster Kan reported. According to the Haaretz newspaper, the security authorities assume that there are around 200 Israeli Arabs who identify with IS. Among them are 20 who could commit attacks in the name of the terrorist organization.

The country fears further acts of violence during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which began last Saturday. The attacks marked the bloodiest phase in Israel in 16 years. About a fifth of Israel’s approximately 9.4 million inhabitants are Arabs. Several Arab politicians have condemned the attacks.

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