Video footage shared on Twitter showed the chaotic aftermath of an attack in Tel Aviv, Israel, that injured nine when an assailant rammed his car into a group of pedestrians.
According to reports on Twitter from several journalists, the assailant was from Hebron, Palestine, and entered Israel illegally to carry out the attack.
Over the past year, relations between Israel and Palestine have grown progressively more violent and fatal. Clashes heightened on Sunday after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched a large-scale operation against suspected Palestinian factions occupying Jenin. The rare IDF operation included both ground and air attacks, with some troops even traveling in bulldozers, against the suspected armed Palestinian factions.
Zina Rakhamilova, a columnist with The Jerusalem Post, theorized that Tuesday’s attack on pedestrians in Tel Aviv was based on revenge.
“No doubt this is a disgusting revenge attack over the Israel’s current operation in Jenin,” Rakhamilova tweeted. “Terrorist has been neutralized.”
🚨Initial reports of a car ramming and shooting terror attack in Tel Aviv.
No doubt this is a disgusting revenge attack over the Israel’s current operation in Jenin.
Terrorist has been neutralized. pic.twitter.com/2BMee6KkWO
— Zina Rakhamilova (@PrincessZeeGirl) July 4, 2023
Amir Levy/Getty Images
Rakhamilova’s tweet included a video of the attack aftermath, which showed debris, a damaged bus stop, the truck and people flocking to the scene.
According to a report by The Guardian, the 23-year-old assailant rammed a truck into a gathering of pedestrians near a bus stop on Pinchas Rosen Street. The assailant then allegedly fled his vehicle and stabbed one of the pedestrians in the neck.
An armed Israeli citizen shot and killed the assailant.
Hamdah Salhut, a correspondent for i24News, tweeted a video of the aftermath as well as a slew of photos that showed the destruction.
“The assailant was identified by police as a 23-year-old from Hebron who entered Israel illegally. He was shot and killed at the scene by an armed Israeli civilian,” Salhut tweeted.
TEL AVIV: 7 people were injured after a car-ramming attack.
The assailant was identified by police as a 23-year-old from Hebron who entered Israel illegally.
He was shot and killed at the scene by an armed Israeli civilian. pic.twitter.com/6i1VPxZNYf
— Hamdah Salhut (@hamdahsalhut) July 4, 2023
The photos showed the gray truck with a severely damaged hood and shattered windshield. The vehicle hit the bus stop with such force that one of its front tires was missing. One picture depicted armed police walking around the cordoned-off area while a passerby snapped a photo of the damage on his phone.
According to a report by NBC News, militant groups called the truck attack and stabbing a “heroic” response to Israel’s raid on the Jenin refugee camp. The raid reportedly has killed 10 Palestinians and injured 100, causing thousands of others to flee their homes, according to a report by The Guardian.
The raid—which culminates months of increasing Israeli attacks on the West Bank—could continue for days, sparking fear that more revenge attacks may follow.
Newsweek reached out to several experts on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by email for comment.
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