Palestinian man drives car into crowd at Tel Aviv bus stop, hurting eight people
4 July 2023, 16:07
A Palestinian man drove his car into a bus stop in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, hurting eight people.
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The unnamed man was shot dead by an armed civilian after the attack on Tuesday, police said.
Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas praised the attack as a "heroic" response to recent Israeli raids on the Jenin refugee camp.
Islamic Jihad, a militant group that has a big presence in Jenin, also praised the assault.
The attacker was a Palestinian from the West Bank with no prior security record, the Israeli internal security agency Shin Bet said.
Read more: Two dead and eight wounded after gunman open fires in Tel Aviv tourist hotspot
Hamas said the Palestinian attacker was a member, although it is unclear if the attack was organised by the group, or if he was acting alone.
Mr Shabtai, the police chief, said several people connected to the man were arrested but did not provide details.
Israeli forces have been in the Jenin camp hunting for Palestinian militants and weapons since Monday.
Military bulldozers tore through alleys and thousands of residents fled to safety on Tuesday, as the Palestinian death toll rose to 12.
The large-scale raid is one of the most intense military operations in the occupied West Bank in nearly two decades.
It came as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces growing pressure from his ultranationalist political allies for a tough response to recent attacks on Israelis, including a shooting last month that killed four people.
Palestinian attacks on Israelis have killed at least 26 people this year. More than 140 Palestinians have been killed this year in the West Bank.
Among the Israeli dead were two sisters who were also British, and their mother.
Rina and Maya Dee, aged 15 and 20, who moved with their family from the UK to Israel in 2014, were shot dead in an attack on their car near an Israeli settlement in the West Bank in April.
Their mother Lucy, who was also shot in the attack, died from her wounds later in hospital.
Israeli security services shot dead two gunmen who killed Lucy, Rina and Maya in early May, as well as a third who helped the attackers.
