One killed as car explodes on Tel Aviv highway
Second man badly hurt as vehicle goes up in flames on Ayalon in north Tel Aviv, police say blast criminal in nature
- See more Times of Israel on Google - add us as a Preferred Source
One person was killed and another badly injured when a car exploded in north Tel Aviv just after midnight Thursday morning.
The cause of the blast, near the KKL interchange on the Ayalon Highway, was apparently criminal in nature and not terror-related, police said.
One man, in his 30s, was found dead at the scene, the Magen David Adom rescue service said. A second man, also in his 30s, was rushed to nearby Ichilov Hospital in serious condition, with a head wound and other injuries, according to MDA.
Police identified the deceased man as Abed al-Hafez Arar, from the Arab-Israeli town of Jaljulia.
Security cam footage released by authorities showed the moment of the explosion.
תיעוד: רגעי פיצוץ הרכב אמש בנתיבי איילון pic.twitter.com/8rSPt8CYDx
— חדשות 13 (@newsisrael13) November 16, 2017
Following the loud blast, which was heard throughout the surrounding region, police shut the southbound lanes of the Ayalon Highway, the main freeway running through Tel Aviv, as firefighters attempted to extinguish the car on fire.
[mappress mapid=”6211″]
The victims were identified in media reports as residents of Kafr Qassem, an Arab-Israeli city in central Israel that has been wracked by crime in recent years.
Car bombings have become a trademark assassination method among underworld crime syndicates. Police have vowed to crack down on the phenomenon.
The Times of Israel Community.