A truck rammed into dozens of elderly Israelis killing at least one in a suspected terror attack near the headquarters of Mossad.
Six people were seriously injured and 37 were taken to hospital after the truck ploughed into a bus stop near the Glilot Junction military base between Tel Aviv and Herzliya.
The driver of the vehicle, named by local media as Arab Israeli citizen Rami Nasrallah Natour from the city of Qalansawe, was shot dead by police and civilians. Officers are investigating whether anyone else was involved but his relatives have argued that a medical issue caused him to lose control.
The attack came just a day after Israel launched a series of strikes against Iran in retaliation for the barrage of 180 missiles it launched towards Tel Aviv and Jerusalem earlier in October.
Sunday’s suspected terror attack happened just after 10am when the white truck was seen “speeding toward a group of people” in Ramat Hasharon before coming to a halt when it hit a bus.
Casualties were pictured trapped under the bumper of the vehicle, which was carrying a heavy load.
Rescue crews described it as “an extremely difficult scene”, with fire services needed to free one victim.
“When we arrived we saw a truck that had struck dozens of people who had alighted from a bus and were standing at the bus stop,” Elior Yosef, from the Magen David Adom ambulance service, said.
“Eight casualties were trapped under the truck and a number of further casualties were either lying or walking near the truck.”
Victims, whose ages range from 30 to 82, were taken to seven hospitals with the man who later succumbed to his injuries.
Most of the wounded were passengers on a guided tour of the area on their way to visit a museum and listen to a lecture who had got off the bus while others were injured as the truck rammed into it.
Asaf Hujah, a nearby business owner, told Haaretz he saw the truck “charging toward the bus stop and hitting the rear side of the bus”.
“It was a chaotic scene, and I immediately called the police,” he said, adding that the driver, who was injured, had tried to attack two police officers responding “so they shot him”.
One of the visitors on board told the newspaper passengers had got off the bus when “suddenly, boom – the truck just went on top of our people. Everyone who was outside was hurt.”
Itamar Ben-Gvir, the national security minister, visited the scene with Police Commissioner Daniel Levy, where he said the incident was believed to be a terror attack.
“This incident is being investigated as a terror attack and that’s how it should be treated. I fully support the police and civilians who neutralised the attacker,” Mr Ben-Gvir said.
Mr Levy added that “the police are investigating the incident as a terror attack, but we are looking in all directions – and will make further announcements accordingly.”
The Glilot base is next to the headquarters of Mossad, the Israel’s foreign intelligence agency, and is also home to the 8200 signals intelligence unit of the Israel Defence Forces, the equivalent of the UK’s GCHQ.
The base has been targeted repeatedly by rockets from Hezbollah and was also one of Iran’s missile attack targets earlier in October.
