Dizengoff Street bus bombing
Dizengoff Street bus bombing | |
---|---|
Location | Dizengoff Street, Tel Aviv, Israel |
Coordinates | 32°4′44″N 34°46′26″E / 32.07889°N 34.77389°E |
Date | October 19, 1994 c. 9:00 am (UTC+2) |
Attack type | Suicide attack |
Deaths | 22 civilians (+1 suicide bomber) |
Injured | 50 |
Perpetrator | Hamas claimed responsibility |
Assailant | Saleh Abdel Rahim al-Souwi |
Participant | 1 |
The Dizengoff Street bus bombing was a
Background
Yahya Ayyash was disappointed that the previous attack he orchestrated, the
Qalqilya resident Saleh Abdel Rahim al-Souwi was selected for the attack. Al-Souwi joined Hamas after his older brother Hasin was killed in 1989, in a shootout with Israeli forces. Al-Souwi was wanted by the Israeli Shabak, but was not considered a high priority.[6] The day before the attack, al-Souwi taped a statement saying "It is good to die as a martyr for Allah" and "Sages end up in paradise".[7]
Attack
Muatab Mukadi, a member of Ayyash's Samaria battalion (of the
At approximately 9:00 AM, as the bus was slowing down for a stop 100 metres north of Dizengoff Square, al-Souwi detonated the bomb killing 21 Israelis and one Dutch national. The powerful explosion lifted the bus off its chassis and the heat melted the fiberglass bus frame. Limbs were projected like missiles into the seating area of nearby restaurants.[8]
Following the explosion, a crowd of demonstrators descended on the bomb site chanting "Death to the Arabs". "Police arrested scores of Arab suspects in and around the blast area, though most of them were detained to save them from the crowd's anger."[8]
Aftermath
Israeli police quickly identified al-Souwi as the perpetrator. The day after the bombing, with his identity confirmed using DNA, al-Souwi's family threw a neighborhood party celebrating his "martyrdom." That afternoon, the Israel Security Agency (ISA) destroyed the house, after giving the family one hour to remove their possessions.[9]
References
- ^ Haberman, Clyde (October 20, 1994). "On the No. 5 Bus Line, A Thud, Then Silence". The New York Times.
- ^ Haberman, Clyde (October 20, 1994). "20 Killed In Terrorist Bombing Of Bus In Tel Aviv". The New York Times.
- ^ Katz, p. 153
- ^ Death toll
- ^ Katz, pp. 147, 150
- ^ Katz, pp. 147-148
- ^ Katz, p. 149
- ^ a b Katz, p. 151
- ^ Katz, p. 160
Further reading
- Katz, Samuel (2002). The Hunt for the Engineer. Lyons Press. ISBN 1-58574-749-1.