ISRAEL AT WAR - DAY 66
The Times of Israel liveblogged Tuesday’s events as they unfolded.
In a brief statement, the IDF confirms striking Gaza.
It offers few initial details, but says the attack is in response to the rockets launched earlier.
Palestinian media report on airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, likely in retaliation for rocket fire that targeted southern Israel hours earlier.
The Shehab news outlet reports strikes near al-Baydar, west of Gaza City, and in Beit Lahiyeh in the north of the Strip.
There is no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
A home in Sderot was lightly damaged by shrapnel from an Iron Dome interceptor missile, according to Hebrew media reports.
No injuries are reported. The inhabitants of the home had been sheltering in a reinforced room when the home was struck, the Kan broadcaster reported.
Pictures show a hole in a ceiling.
הירי לעוטף: רסיסי מיירט אותרו בבית מגורים בשדרות. אין נפגעים, נזק נגרם לבית. בני המשפחה שהו בממ"ד | עדכונים שוטפים >> https://t.co/EmuCs30zio@Itsik_zuarets (צילום: עיריית שדרות) pic.twitter.com/zeiVwHugzY
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) July 4, 2023
The Israel Defense Forces says Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip fired a salvo of five rockets at southern Israel.
All five rockets are intercepted by the Iron Dome air defense system, the IDF says.
There are no reports of injuries or damage in the attack.
Photos and videos circulating online purport to show several rockets being fired out of Gaza, as well as at least one Iron Dome interception.
Israel missile defense activated following rockets launched from Gaza. pic.twitter.com/dChuV0bE6C
— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) July 4, 2023
Photo: Rockets firing from Gaza pic.twitter.com/Fr3HqKkGNT
— Local Focus – Security Alerts (@LocalFocus1) July 4, 2023
There is no immediate confirmation of rocket launches or interceptions from the Israel Defense Forces.
Incoming rocket sirens are sounding in the southern Israeli city of Sderot and other nearby towns.
Residents of the area, close to the border with the Gaza Strip, report hearing several explosions, indicting incoming rockets may have been intercepted or landed in open areas.
The Israel Defense Forces does not immediately provide further details.
There are no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
The sirens come following the IDF’s major operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, during which 12 Palestinian gunmen were killed.
During the past year, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group has responded with rocket fire from Gaza over members killed by Israel in the West Bank.
An Israel Defense Forces officer is moderately hurt after being shot in an apparent training accident at the Tzeelim training base in southern Israel earlier this evening, the military says.
The officer has been taken to the Soroka medical center in Beersheba, and his family has been notified of his injury, the IDF says.
The Israel Defense Forces confirms it carried out an airstrike against a group of Palestinian gunmen in the West Bank city of Jenin.
The IDF says the gunmen were stationed at a cemetery on the outskirts of Jenin, and “posed a threat to security forces as they left the refugee camp.”
“This is further proof of the exploitation of civilian sites throughout the city and in the Jenin refugee camp by terror elements,” the IDF says.
Palestinian media report several casualties in the strike.
The Palestinian Authority health ministry raises the death toll of the Israeli military’s raid in the West Bank city of Jenin to 12.
The ministry doesn’t immediately provide information on the circumstances of the new death, but some Palestinian media reports suggest he was wounded in a shootout earlier this evening with Israeli troops.
Palestinian media outlets are reporting an Israeli airstrike against a number of people near a cemetery in eastern Jenin.
The reports say there are several casualties in the strike.
No further details are immediately available.
Palestinian media also publish a video of an Israeli army jeep being targeted by an explosive device in the city.
Israeli troops are beginning to leave the city following a 44-hour-long operation.
مصادر محلية: لحظة تفجير عبوة ناسفة بجيب إسرائيلي في جنين. pic.twitter.com/gxVZFNowsT
— وكالة شهاب للأنباء (@ShehabAgency) July 4, 2023
Israeli military forces are beginning to withdraw from the West Bank city of Jenin, after a 44-hour-long operation.
A military source says that some of the forces are already out of the area.
Palestinian media are reporting sporadic clashes with Israeli troops as they leave the city.
Earlier, the Israel Defense Forces said it had questioned over 300 suspects since the operation began early Monday, although only 30 of them were arrested.
Throughout the campaign, the IDF said troops located and demolished at least eight weapon storage sites, six explosives labs with hundreds of primed devices, three war rooms used by Palestinian gunmen to observe Israeli forces, and other “terror infrastructure.”
The IDF said it had also seized 24 assault rifles, 8 handguns and dozens of bullets.
Troops also carried out some 20 drone strikes against various targets in the refugee camp.
Palestinian health officials said 11 Palestinians were killed, and more than 100 were wounded, including 20 listed in serious condition, during Israeli airstrikes and in clashes with Israeli forces. All of the slain Palestinians were involved in the fighting, but there were some noncombatants among the wounded, according to the IDF.
The IDF has said the operation is not a one-off, and will be used to make future operations in Jenin easier for Israeli forces.
Gunfire continues to sound in the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank, as Palestinian media report renewed clashes between gunmen and Israeli forces.
Earlier, clashes took place near a hospital in the city of Jenin, according to Palestinian media.
The Israel Defense Forces has not yet commented on the gun battles.
#شاهد جانب من الاشتباكات الجارية بين عناصر المقاومة الفلسطينية وجيش الاحتلال في #مخيم_جنين.
لمتابعة آخر الأخبار عبر قناة نيو برس على تيلجرام https://t.co/6BCL5wfFPS pic.twitter.com/0K38X1oGT3
— Newpress | نيو برس (@NewpressPs) July 4, 2023
Kobi Yekutiel, the man who shot dead the terrorist in Tel Aviv today, tells Kan news he at first thought the attack was an accident as the assailant’s car smashed into a bus stop.
Yekutiel was on his moped when he heard “a large bang behind me.”
“I thought it was a car crash and then I saw him come out [of the car] with a knife — someone huge, big, a really frightening person — and stab the first person he met near the car. I thought it’s a fight between drivers.”
But then, he says, the penny dropped as the terrorist “left the victim and started running at others to stab them.” He said he experienced no hesitation at that point.
“I pulled out the gun, he saw me. He started running toward me. There was another elderly man near me. I took a few steps back to cock the gun. As he came near me I took him out. He still didn’t fall. He continued to try to stab the man who was by me… so I hit him with another shot, and then he sat down and I took him out with two more bullets.”
Yekutiel says he was shaking as it all unfolded. “I thought ‘God let the gun fire, or I’m dead.'”
United Torah Judaism MK Yitzhak Pindrus was caught on a hot mic earlier today saying protesters against the government’s judicial overhaul are “fascists” and should be “finished off.”
Pindrus was heard making the comments while at the Knesset’s Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, as it met to pass the highly controversial overhaul bill to shield elected officials from judicial review of the “reasonableness” of their decisions.
“Did you see what they did at the airport yesterday?” he was heard saying. “What is this? [They’re] fascists, they need to be finished off.”
Asked to comment, Pindrus tells Channel 12 he was speaking “cynically” in reference to police not taking a suitably tough approach toward the protesters, in his view.
Later, Shachar Glick of Army Radio and Atara German of Makor Rishon, the two journalists with whom Pindrus was talking, confirm the lawmaker’s account and say the comments were taken out of context, and that Pindrus was cynically describing authorities’ response had it been right-wing settlers blocking the airport.
The White House was briefly evacuated Sunday evening while US President Joe Biden was at Camp David after the Secret Service discovered a suspicious powder in a common area of the West Wing, and a preliminary test showed the substance was cocaine, two law enforcement officials say.
Secret Service agents were doing routine rounds on Sunday when they found the white powder in an area accessible to tour groups, not in any particular West Wing office, the officials said. The officials were not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
The complex was evacuated at about 8:45 p.m. Sunday as fire and emergency crews were brought in to do a rapid test, which preliminarily identified cocaine. The White House was soon reopened and the powder was sent for further testing.
“The item was sent for further evaluation and an investigation into the cause and manner of how it entered the White House is pending,” the Secret Service said.
Jenin resident Samer Alawneh, a tour guide, tells The Times of Israel he was forced out of his house by the IDF during the ongoing military operation in Jenin launched yesterday.
Alawneh says he first heard a drone fly over his house at around 1 a.m. on Monday, as the operation was launched. He then heard an explosion coming from the Jenin refugee camp. Subsequently, he says he saw military vehicles passing by his house and began to feel worried for his family as the operation continued.
He says the son of his neighbor, Noureddine Marshoud, was one of 10 Palestinians killed in the first hours (photos of Marshoud brandishing an assault rifle have been doing the rounds on social media).
Later in the day, at around 2 p.m., Samer says he heard banging on his door and at least five IDF soldiers broke into his home and forced him out with his wife and four children. He claims the IDF then proceeded to place snipers on the rooftop of his house, and that he has not been able to return home and is now in his home village of Jaba’ with his family, about 25 kilometers from the city, waiting for the military operation to end. Access roads in and out of the city are currently closed, he notes.
Samer also comments on today’s ramming attack against civilians in Tel Aviv, describing it as a “natural reaction” to the IDF’s operation in Jenin, and denies claims that the al-Ansari mosque was used as a weapon depot, describing the report as a “fabrication” by the Israeli army.
The IDF did not immediately respond to a request for comment by The Times of Israel.
The New York Police Department’s hate crimes unit is seeking an individual who defaced two synagogues with spray paint.
The NYPD releases a video of the suspect and offers a $3,500 reward for information.
The suspect vandalized the two synagogues in south Brooklyn late at night at around the same time in mid-May, the NYPD tells The Times of Israel.
Jews are targeted in hate crimes more than any other group in New York City, with at least 100 antisemitic incidents reported to police since the start of the year.
WANTED HATE CRIME CRIMINAL MISCHIEF PATTERN: On 5/14/23 @NYPD61PCT the unidentified individual spray painted on two synagogues damaging them. Any info call us at 800-577-TIPS or anonymously post a tip on our website https://t.co/TRPPY5zHV2 Reward up to $3,500 pic.twitter.com/8IxgZKmvQ1
— NYPD Crime Stoppers (@NYPDTips) July 4, 2023
The Palestinian Authority health ministry reports three wounded by gunfire amid renewed clashes with Israeli forces in the West Bank city of Jenin.
According to Palestinian media, the clashes are taking place near a hospital in the city.
مراسل نيو برس : اشتباكات عنيفة بين مقاومين وقوات الاحتلال في محيط دوار السينما وسط مدينة #جنين
لمتابعة آخر الأخبار عبر قناة نيو برس على تيلجرام https://t.co/6BCL5wfFPS pic.twitter.com/BpHARmWuis
— Newpress | نيو برس (@NewpressPs) July 4, 2023
The Israel Defense Forces, meanwhile, says it has questioned over 300 suspects since the operation began early Monday, although only 30 of them were arrested.
The IDF says it has demolished six labs used to manufacture explosives, and 300 homemade bombs. It adds that 24 assault rifles, 8 handguns, and dozens of bullets have also been seized.
The pregnant woman who was seriously wounded in today’s terror attack in Tel Aviv has lost her child as a result of her injuries, media reports say.
The woman remains in very serious condition after being hit in the ramming and stabbing attack.
It is unknown how advanced her pregnancy was.
Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities have ordered beauty parlors across the country to shut within a month, the vice ministry confirms, the latest curb to squeeze women out of public life.
The order will force the closure of thousands of businesses run by women — often the only source of income for households — and outlaw one of the few remaining opportunities for them to socialize away from home.
“I think it would have been good if women did not exist at all in this society,” says the manager of a Kabul parlor who asked not to be identified.
“I am saying this now: I wish I did not exist. I wish we were not born in Afghanistan, or were not from Afghanistan.”
Hezbollah and its allied Shiite movement Amal condemn the “aggressive and repeated Israeli practices at various points on the Lebanese borders.”
The two groups also salute the “heroic resistance fighters in Jenin and the Palestinian people who confront the arrogance of the Zionists.”
Liberia’s President George Weah tells Foreign Minister Eli Cohen that his country intends to open an embassy in Israel.
In their meeting in Jerusalem, also attended by Liberian Foreign Minister Dee Maxwell Kemayah, the officials discuss deepening cooperation in energy, water, and agriculture.
Cohen calls the West African nation “one of Israel’s biggest friends in Africa.”
In recent years, Liberia has taken a stand in favor of Israel in the UN and in the African Union.
It seems increasingly unlikely that Israel will meet the September target to deploy the civilian air alert system being designed for Ukraine, diplomatic officials tell The Times of Israel.
Field tests could begin in Kyiv in September, but it will take months before it is fully operational. The Defense Ministry hosted Ukrainian officials yesterday to discuss the project’s progress.
Since the beginning of the war last year, Russia has battered Ukrainian cities with missile and suicide drone strikes.
Unlike in Israel, the system set for deployment in Ukraine will feature alerts only, without interception capabilities. Ukraine has long sought missile interceptor capabilities, but Israel has so far refused, seeking to avoid overly antagonizing Russia. This hesitance is mainly seen as linked to Israel’s strategic need to maintain freedom of operations in Syria, where Russian forces largely control the airspace.
The Palestinian Authority health ministry says a man has been fatally shot in the head by Israeli troops in the West Bank city of Jenin.
The ministry does not provide further details on the incident, and there is no immediate comment from the Israel Defense Forces.
The death brings the toll of the IDF’s operation in Jenin, which began early Monday, to 11.
Germany insists on Israel’s right to self-defense amid its biggest military operation in years in the West Bank, but urges it to observe “proportionality.”
The German foreign ministry says it is watching the latest flare-up of violence in the region with “great concern” but stresses “Israel, like every state, has the right to defend itself against terror.”
However, a ministry spokesman says in a statement that “the principle under international law of proportionality must be respected” in the Jenin camp.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says Jenin “in the past two years had become a factory for terror. In the past two days, this ended.”
“We cut off the weapons manufacturing process, captured thousands of bombs, destroyed dozens of production sites, workshops and explosives labs,” he says.
Gallant says the military will ensure it can operate freely against terror in the city.
“We will reach a situation where we can move everywhere… with a squad and not an entire brigade.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the Israel Defense Forces are “completing the mission” in Jenin, after two days of major military activity.
“At this moment we are completing the mission, and I can say our widescale action in Jenin is not a one-time thing,” the prime minister says during a visit to a military post near the West Bank city.
“We will continue [to operate] as necessary to root out terrorism. We will not allow Jenin to go back to being a hotbed of terror,” he adds.
On the terror attack in Tel Aviv earlier, the premier says: “Anyone who thinks such a terror attack will deter us from continuing to fight terrorism is wrong. They just don’t know the spirit of Israel, our government, our citizens and our fighters.”
נתניהו: "הפעולה בג'נין אינה חד פעמית – נמשיך ככל שדרוש" | @talshalev1 https://t.co/dW4ILM7IMJ pic.twitter.com/Sfi1mD6biP
— וואלה! (@WallaNews) July 4, 2023
One of the people wounded in the Tel Aviv terror attack today is a pregnant woman, whose condition has been categorized as very serious.
Ynet reports, without citing sources, that it appears the terrorist used a car he had stolen from his employer, though it is unclear if this was an Israeli or Palestinian employer.
The Beersheba District Court convicts preschool manager Batia Dayan, 54 of Kiryat Malachi, of abuse of children under her care.
Dayan admitted to over 50 counts of abuse of children in 2021-2022, shouting at them, shoving them and beating them.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak urges Israel to protect Palestinian civilians as the country’s armed forces wage their biggest operation in years in the West Bank.
Sunak reiterates UK support for Israel’s right to self-defense, and condemns Palestinian terrorist attacks as he is grilled by members of parliament on an array of issues.
But he also says: “We would say the protection of civilians must be prioritized in any military operation, and we urge the IDF to demonstrate restraint in its operation and for all parties to avoid further escalation in both the West Bank and Gaza, both now and in the days ahead.”
Sunak says the UK “also called on Israel to adhere to principles of necessity and proportionality when defending their legitimate security interests.”
A report by the the Ombudsman of the Israeli Judiciary, former Supreme Court justice Uri Shoham, finds a rise in complaints related to delayed process in 2022, and cites a serious shortage of judges as the coalition has failed to convene the panel that appoints them.
The report says that of 885 reports filed in 2022, 50 (9%) were found to be justified. Of those, 46% dealt with lengthy and delayed legal processes, a significant rise from the previous year, when the figure stood at 28%.
The rest of the complaints dealt with behavior unbecoming of a judge (22%), deficiencies in management of trials (22%) and an unfair process (10%).
The shortage in judges “poses a significant challenge to judges, affects their management of sessions and their patience,” Shoham writes.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich slams anti-judicial overhaul protests as “privileged,” shortly after the Knesset’s Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee advanced a bill to curtail judicial scrutiny over the “reasonableness” of elected officials’ decisions.
Smotrich tells the committee that the protest movement “isn’t a fight for democracy,” but rather that “the privileged group is choosing to protect their own.”
Yesterday, thousands of anti-overhaul protesters shut down traffic to Ben Gurion Airport for hours. Smotrich says that such protests are held by figures on the “fringe,” and despite 52 arrests, says police are failing to take on the demonstrators and are engaging in “selective enforcement.”
“The left is allowed to block roads and the right is prohibited,” he claims.
The “reasonableness” bill has now passed a vote on various objections raised by the opposition.
Its path to a vote on the Knesset floor has been cleared.
In a joint statement, opposition party heads Yair Lapid and Benny Gantz slam the coalition’s advancement of a bill to outlaw judicial review of cabinet and minister decisions.
“Today’s vote in the Constitution Committee are a blatant unilateral move that harms the citizens of Israel and tears the nation apart,” they write.
Despite breaking off compromise talks last month, Yesh Atid and National Unity party heads say that it is still “possible to reach agreements, it is possible to make changes in the judicial system for the good of Israeli citizens and not for the tyranny of the majority and corrupt appointments.”
They say that eliminating the reasonableness test opens the door for corruption.
“This law is not meant to protect the citizens, but to protect the politicians,” they say, calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to pause the bill before its first floor vote.
Turkey’s foreign minister says Swedish authorities’ failure to prevent Quran-burning protests in the country is raising security concerns and questions about Sweden’s credentials for possible NATO membership.
But Hakan Fidan says Turkey will still approve Sweden’s membership in the military alliance if Stockholm “completes its homework” and presses ahead with efforts to address Turkey’s concerns.
“The fact that the Swedish security system is incapable of preventing provocations and is presenting an image of a (country) that brings problems to NATO — instead of more power — is making us think in terms of the strategic and security aspects,” Fidan says at a joint news conference with his Jordanian counterpart.
“When it comes to Sweden’s membership in NATO, whether it will become a burden or a benefit has become more open to debate,” he adds.
Hamas claims the Tel Aviv attacker, 20-year old Abed al-Wahab Khalaila, as a member of the terror group, but stops short of claiming responsibility for terror attack.
Hamas also vows in its statement to “continue, escalate and diversify” its revenge attacks.
Palestinians have shared photos online that purport to show the attacker.
#صورة الشهيد عبد الوهاب خلايلة منفذ عملية "تل أبيب" حيث نشر الاحتلال أسم مخالف في بداية الحدث ونشر أسم شقيقه حسين.
تابع آخر الأخبار عبر قناة نيو برس على تيلجرام https://t.co/6BCL5wfFPS pic.twitter.com/BdAlgNsd3Y
— Newpress | نيو برس (@NewpressPs) July 4, 2023
France condemns “in the strongest possible terms” the attack in Tel Aviv.
“All our thoughts are with the injured and their loved ones. Nothing can ever justify terrorism,” the French Embassy tweets.
Australian Ambassador Ralph King says he is “shocked by news of the terror attack.”
“The deliberate targeting of civilians can never be justified,” he tweets.
Shocked by news of the terror attack in North Tel Aviv. The deliberate targeting of civilians can never be justified. Our deep sympathies to those wounded, and best wishes for their quick recovery.
— Ralph King ???????????????? (@AusAmbIsrael) July 4, 2023
A controversial bill to shield elected officials from judicial scrutiny over the “reasonableness” of their decisions can be brought to its first Knesset floor vote as early as Monday, after the parliamentary committee preparing the bill approves it for the plenum, pending objections.
The Knesset’s Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee okays the bill after five discussions held over the past nine days, and over expert and opposition criticism.
A screaming match preceded the vote, with opposition lawmakers yelling “it’s an illegal vote,” and “this is how a dictator behaves” over calls to order from the committee chair.
קרב צעקות בוועדת החוקה: רוטמן החל בהצבעה על צמצום עילת הסבירות – ועורר זעם מצד חברי האופוזיציה. 5 ח"כים הוצאו@yaara_shapira pic.twitter.com/tJI0DTddlZ
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) July 4, 2023
The latest step in the coalition’s planned overhaul of the judiciary, the bill will completely block judicial review or discussion of the “reasonableness” of decisions and appointments made by the cabinet, individual ministers and “other elected officials, as set by law.” The Attorney General’s Office has warned of it opening a “black hole” for transparency.
Committee chair MK Simcha Rothman said yesterday that the bill will only apply to the government and ministers, although he said he did not plan to shut the door to expanding its scope. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had earlier this week ordered Rothman and Justice Minister Yariv Levin — the coalition’s two judicial shakeup champions — to remove mayors from the bill’s purview.
Security camera footage has emerged of the attack in Tel Aviv. The short clip shows the attacker crash into a bus stop, then emerge from the car and begin rushing at and stabbing onlookers.
תיעוד הפיגוע בתל אביב: דורס, יוצא דרך חלון הרכב ומתחיל במסע דקירות pic.twitter.com/hWehOrdkMJ
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) July 4, 2023
The Israel Defense Forces says troops located and destroyed at least 11 improvised explosive devices hidden along roads in the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank.
Operatives of terror groups “are planting IEDs and bombs on the roads in the refugee camp and in the city, in a civilian environment. This poses a threat to the security forces who use the roads in counterterrorism activities and to innocent people who also use them,” the IDF says in a statement.
The military says that during the last few hours, dozens of combat engineering vehicles have been combing the streets for such IEDs.
The armored vehicles are also flattening makeshift roadblocks placed by Palestinian gunmen in the refugee camp, the IDF says.
הדבר מהווה איום על כוחות הביטחון שמשתמשים בכבישים בפעילות לסיכול טרור ועל חפים מפשע שמתשמשים בהם גם הם.
צה"ל פעל בהכוונה מודיעינית של שב"כ לנטרול איום המטענים באמצעות פילוס הכבישים עם כלים הנדסים>> pic.twitter.com/pP0BW9xZoB
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) July 4, 2023
The Shin Bet security agency says the Palestinian terrorist who carried out the car-ramming and stabbing attack in Tel Aviv did not have an entry permit to Israel.
The agency in a statement names the attacker as Abed al-Wahab Khalaila, 20, from the southern West Bank town of as-Samu, near Hebron.
Earlier reports by Hebrew-language media incorrectly the attacker as Hussein Khalaila, 23, an apparent relative who had a permit to enter Israel for medical care.
The Shin Bet says the attacker, Abed al-Wahab Khalaila, had no known prior security offenses.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir says the armed man who shot dead the terrorist in Tel Aviv is further proof of the importance of arms-bearing civilians.
“I call on those who meet the requirements — carry firearms with you.”
Visiting the scene of the Tel Aviv attack, police chief Kobi Shabtai says the terrorist ran over a group of people waiting at a bus stop before emerging from the car to stab others.
Shabtai says security forces have already arrested several people connected to the attacker and “the circumstances are being looked into in regards to his background and motive.”
He praises the civilian who shot the attacker dead “and prevented him from continuing his murderous rampage.”
He urges the public to remain vigilant, noting that the motivation for attacks has risen due to Israel’s major military operation in Jenin.
מפכ"ל המשטרה יעקב שבתאי: כל מי שהיה קשור אל המחבל – נעצר. אני רוצה לשבח את האזרח שעם הרבה אומץ הצליח לסכל את האירוע, ולמנוע את המשך מסע הרצח של אותו המחבל. אני פונה לציבור ולאזרחים – גלו עירנות@sharonidan @kerenu9 pic.twitter.com/4qeAfr2ayG
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) July 4, 2023
The assailant who carried out the attack in Tel Aviv is named by Hebrew-language media as Hussein Khalaila, 23, from the southern West Bank town of as-Samu, near Hebron.
The reports say he entered Israel with a permit for medical treatment as he was suffering from a terminal illness.
Security officials tell The Times of Israel that the terrorist’s identity is still under review.
#صورة متداولة للشهيد حسين خلايلة منفذ عملية "تل أبيب" قبل قليل.
آخر الأخبار عبر قناة نيو برس على تيلجرام https://t.co/6BCL5wfFPS pic.twitter.com/NsAr8fBmzE
— Newpress | نيو برس (@NewpressPs) July 4, 2023
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says Israelis need to unite in the face of terror, shortly after a terrorist rammed a car into pedestrians in Tel Aviv and stabbed several others.
“Our enemies want to hurt us in Tel Aviv, in Eli, and everywhere in the Land of Israel, and against them we need to show unity and determination, in Tel Aviv, in Eli, and everywhere in the Land of Israel,” he says, referring to a recent deadly attack in the West Bank settlement of Eli.
“Our heroic fighters are working even at this time to hit the terrorists and their emissaries in Jenin and we pray for their safety and success,” he continues, supporting the military’s ongoing operation in the West Bank terror hotspot.
“The Israel Defense Forces and security forces will lay their hands on every one of those who wish us evil,” he adds.
Hamas praises the terror attack in Tel Aviv.
The Gaza-based terror organization calls the ramming and stabbing “heroic revenge for the military operation in Jenin,” referring to a major military operation in the West Bank city that Israel launched early yesterday morning.
Police say seven people were wounded in the attack in Tel Aviv, which included a car-ramming and stabbing.
Three of the victims are listed in serious condition, two are in moderate condition, and another two suffered light injuries, police say.
The assailant rammed his pickup truck into people on a sidewalk on Pinchas Rosen Street in the coastal city, then got out and stabbed others, police say.
The Magen David Adom rescue service says it is taking four people to hospitals from the scene of a car-ramming attack in Tel Aviv.
The four are a woman aged 46 in serious condition, two people in moderate condition, and one person with light injuries.
MDA earlier said it was treating five people at the scene.
עדכונים פיגוע בצפון תל אביב:
> אזרח גיבור חיסל בירי את המחבל.
> עד ראיה: "אחרי הדריסה, יצא המחבל והתחיל לדקור עד שנורה על ידי אזרח".
> הוכרז אירוע רב נפגעים קטן.
> דובר חמאס: המבצע ההרואי בתל אביב הוא התגובה הראשונה לפשעי הכיבוש נגד עמנו במחנה ג'נין.
תיעוד הזירה כעת: pic.twitter.com/9f2UrqlVK0
— יענקי כהן | Yanki Coen (@yankicoen) July 4, 2023
Medics are responding to reports of a car-ramming attack Pinkhas Rosen Street in Tel Aviv.
The Magen David Adom ambulance service says its medics are treating five people at the scene.
Graphic footage from the scene shows several people strewn on the floor.
The suspected assailant was shot and killed by an armed civilian at the scene, police said, confirming the the incident is a terror attack
The United Nations Human Rights Council will hold a session in the coming days to address recent incidents of Quran burning in Europe, a council spokesman says.
“The UN Human Rights Council will hold an urgent debate to discuss the alarming rise in premeditated and public acts of religious hatred, as manifested by the current desecration of the holy Quran in some European and other countries,” council spokesman Pascal Sim told reporters, citing a request from Pakistan on behalf of some members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
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