Alberto Balsalm
04-18-2006, 01:28 AM
Less than two hours before the 17th Knesset was sworn in on Monday afternoon, terror struck in southern Tel Aviv as a suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowd at the entrance to a fast food stand, killing nine people and wounding close to 70 others.
Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the bombing that ripped through the Rosh Ha'ir shwarma stand on Rehov Salome in the southern Tel Aviv neighborhood of Neveh Sha'anan, not far from the old Tel Aviv central bus station. The same restaurant was hit in a similar suicide attack three months ago, injuring 20 people.
Four of the victims were women, and five were men. Seven names have been released: Philip Balahsan, 45, from Ashdod, a father of two children who were wounded as well; Victor Erez, 60, from Givatayim; the restaurant's security guard Binyamin Hafuta, 47, from Lod; Ariel Darhi from Bat Yam; Lili Yunis, 42, from Oranit; David Shmuelov, 28, from Holon; Piroshka Boda, 50, and Rosalia Basalia, 48, both Romanian citizens;.
Erez's funeral was scheduled for 11 a.m. on Tuesday at the Yarkon cemetery. Shmuelov's funeral was also scheduled for the same time in Holon.
Thirty-six of the victims remained hospitalized overnight at Ichilov, Sheba and Wolfson Hospitals, and at the Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva. The wounded included two children, a 60-year-old French tourist, and a 16-year-old American tourist who was listed in critical condition. Nine victims were listed in serious condition, 16 moderate and the rest in light condition.
The suicide bomber was identified by Israeli sources as Sami Hamad from the village of al-Gharakah, near Jenin. Media reports listed his age as 16, but his family said he was 21.
Interim Prime Minister Ehud Olmert hinted at a harsh Israeli response following a consultation with Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, "We will know how to respond, and will continue to act with all the means at our disposal to prevent further terror attempts," he said.
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Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the bombing that ripped through the Rosh Ha'ir shwarma stand on Rehov Salome in the southern Tel Aviv neighborhood of Neveh Sha'anan, not far from the old Tel Aviv central bus station. The same restaurant was hit in a similar suicide attack three months ago, injuring 20 people.
Four of the victims were women, and five were men. Seven names have been released: Philip Balahsan, 45, from Ashdod, a father of two children who were wounded as well; Victor Erez, 60, from Givatayim; the restaurant's security guard Binyamin Hafuta, 47, from Lod; Ariel Darhi from Bat Yam; Lili Yunis, 42, from Oranit; David Shmuelov, 28, from Holon; Piroshka Boda, 50, and Rosalia Basalia, 48, both Romanian citizens;.
Erez's funeral was scheduled for 11 a.m. on Tuesday at the Yarkon cemetery. Shmuelov's funeral was also scheduled for the same time in Holon.
Thirty-six of the victims remained hospitalized overnight at Ichilov, Sheba and Wolfson Hospitals, and at the Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva. The wounded included two children, a 60-year-old French tourist, and a 16-year-old American tourist who was listed in critical condition. Nine victims were listed in serious condition, 16 moderate and the rest in light condition.
The suicide bomber was identified by Israeli sources as Sami Hamad from the village of al-Gharakah, near Jenin. Media reports listed his age as 16, but his family said he was 21.
Interim Prime Minister Ehud Olmert hinted at a harsh Israeli response following a consultation with Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, "We will know how to respond, and will continue to act with all the means at our disposal to prevent further terror attempts," he said.
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