The death toll from what is believed to be an attack on the Tel Aviv seafront is one dead and 7 injured. The victim, confirms the Farnesina, is Alessandro Parisi, a 35-year-old Italian tourist, a lawyer from Rome, who arrived in Israel on Friday with friends. The alleged killer was killed by police fire. The man’s identity is not yet known, the car in which he was traveling had been stolen from an Israeli Arab who, upon inspection, was found in his home. The attacker would have hit at least two people with a firearm, while other people were hit by the car launched at high speed into the crowd. Four of the wounded arrived at the Ichilov hospital in Tel Aviv and according to the doctors they are all in “medium or light” conditions. Kan public television added that three injured are British citizens and two Italians. Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told Tg1 that their names are being investigated and that they would not be seriously injured. Tajani also spoke to Parini’s father to express closeness and condolences.
The exact nature of the attack wasn’t immediately clear, but the foreign ministry called it a “terrorist attack,” a term Israeli officials use for assaults on Palestinians. The car hit a group of people near a popular seaside park before overturning.
The attack came against the backdrop of heightened tensions after Israeli air strikes on Palestinian militant targets in both Lebanon and Gaza as well as a gun attack in the occupied West Bank that killed two Israelis. This followed days of violence and unrest in Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site, the Al-Aqsa mosque complex in the Old City. The Hamas militant group that rules Gaza praised the attack on Tel Aviv as a response to Israel’s “crimes against the mosque and Al-Aqsa worshippers.”
Netanyahu orders wide recall of reservists
Upon learning of the Tel Aviv bombing, Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu ordered the recall of all available reserve forces of the Border Guard. He also ordered Chief of Staff General Herzi Halevi to call up army reservists as well. His office made it known. Air Force reservists had also been called up previously.
Islamic Jihad, the attack is a response for i Palestinians
Tonight’s attack in Tel Aviv is a “natural and legitimate response to the crimes of the occupation against the Palestinian people” attack near Dizengoff Street in central Tel Aviv, in which three people were killed.
Hamas: response to crimes against Al-Aqsa will not stop
“The operations to respond to the occupation’s crimes in Al-Aqsa are intensifying and will not stop.” This was stated by a Hamas spokesman, quoted by the Arab media, commenting on tonight’s attack. “The Tel Aviv operation demonstrates the ability of the resistance and its young people to strike against the occupation,” added the spokesman, without claiming responsibility for the attack.