Eight people were injured after a car driver rammed into pedestrians near a Tel Aviv shopping center and then got out of the vehicle to stab civilians, Israeli officials said Tuesday.
The attack came as Israeli forces continued military operations in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin for a second night, a day after incursions killed at least 10 people between the ages of 16 and 23, and injured about 100 others.
Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement, and said it was a response to Israel’s ongoing operation in Jenin.
The chief of staff of the Israel’s Medical Emergency Service, Uri Shacham, outlined how the attack unfolded. “This terror attack was combined, both of the vehicle hitting pedestrians, and then the driver, leaving the car, going outside, and stabbing innocent civilians,” he said.
“Magen David Adom [the emergency service] deployed tens of ambulances, mobile intensive care units and motorcycles emergency motorcycles to the scene.”
One of the injured, a 46-year-old woman, is in serious condition, the Magen David Adom said.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) also praised Tuesday’s attack, saying it’s the “response of the resistance to what is happening in Jenin,” a statement said.
The PIJ did not claim responsibility for the attack in the statement.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the ramming and stabbings in Tel Aviv a “heinous terror attack.”
Netanyahu added: “Whoever thinks that such an attack will deter us from continuing our fight against terrorism is mistaken. He is simply unfamiliar with the spirit of the State of Israel, our government, our citizens and our soldiers.”
“Final hours I hope, but it’s not over yet till we declare it. There’s movements in the camp, forces are leaving the camp. It could still change,” Hecht said.
Human rights groups have expressed deep concern regarding the surge in violence in Jenin. UNICEF reported that at least three children lost their lives, while many others sustained injuries amid ongoing clashes, its Middle East and North Africa regional director Adele Khodr said on Tuesday.
