At least two people were killed and eight others injured in a series of shootings in central Tel Aviv on Thursday. Live footage from Israel’s Kan radio and television station showed police flooding the area and training their weapons on the top floor of a building. It also showed an explosion of some kind. Israel’s emergency services Magen David Adom said it had received reports of shootings in “several tents” around downtown Tel Aviv. At least one attack took place on Dizengoff Street, a main street and popular hangout at the weekend. Eli Levy, a police spokesman, told Israel’s Channel 13 that several people were injured in the shooting on Thursday and that police were on the scene. He called on the people to avoid the area. Two of the injured later died, the Times of Israel reported, citing officials at Ichilov Medical Center. The hospital treated eight others – four who were in “critical condition” and underwent surgery. Television footage showed armed officers running down Dizengoff Street and into smaller side streets trying to locate the perpetrator or attackers. A police helicopter dropped the spotlight on the streets from above. The motive for the shooting was not immediately clear, but tensions have risen since the recent Palestinian attacks that killed 11 people in Israel. On March 22, four Israelis were killed in a knife attack in Beer Sheva. Five days later, two border guards were shot dead in Chandera. On March 30, two Israelis, two Ukrainians and a police officer were killed in a shooting in Bnei Brak. A woman reacts to the scene of the shooting in Tel Aviv on Thursday [Ariel Schalit/AP] Outside a cafe where shattered windows covered the ground outside the entrance, a man comforted a woman sitting on a bar stool. “It’s an atmosphere of war. “Soldiers and police are everywhere,” said Benjamin Bloom, who works at a restaurant near the site of the attack. Referring to West Jerusalem, Al Jazeera’s John Holman said the area where the shooting took place was “full of bars and cafes”. “It simply came to our notice then. Local media reported that there were two separate gunmen. This shooting took place in various locations. “It looks like an attack, rather than a criminal shooting,” Holman said. “Israel is sending more police, more security forces to the streets, and the prime minister said last week that anyone with a firearms license should carry a firearm. “This is a moment for which they have prepared, especially since it is the beginning of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, which often brings tensions to this part of the world.” Prime Minister Naftali Bennett was monitoring the situation from the Israeli headquarters, which is also located in the center of Tel Aviv, his office said. American and European envoys to Israel rushed to condemn the attack. Terrified watching another cowardly terrorist attack on innocent civilians, this time in Tel Aviv. We pray for peace and send our condolences to the victims and their families. This has to stop! – Ambassador Tom Nides (@USAmbIsrael) April 7, 2022 The last time such an attack was carried out on Dizengov was in 2016, when two people were killed and several others were injured in a barrage of shootings. The perpetrator was killed several days later after fleeing the scene. From one of the shooting locations at #Tel_Aviv pic.twitter.com/QmYYkMrcaq – Ahmed Darawsha (@AhDarawsha) April 7, 2022
title: “Shooting In Popular Tel Aviv Area Kills 2 Israelis 8 Wounded News " ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-17” author: “Don Thompson”
Live footage from Israel’s Kan radio and television station showed police flooding the area and training their weapons on the top floor of a building. It also showed an explosion of some kind. Israel’s emergency services Magen David Adom said it had received reports of shootings in “several tents” around downtown Tel Aviv. At least one attack took place on Dizengoff Street, a main street and popular hangout at the weekend. Eli Levy, a police spokesman, told Israel’s Channel 13 that several people were injured in the shooting on Thursday and that police were on the scene. He called on the people to avoid the area. Two of the injured later died, the Times of Israel reported, citing officials at Ichilov Medical Center. The hospital treated eight others – four who were in “critical condition” and underwent surgery. Television footage showed armed officers running down Dizengoff Street and into smaller side streets trying to locate the perpetrator or attackers. A police helicopter dropped the spotlight on the streets from above. Police inform reporters about the shooting attack in Tel Aviv: An armed suspect fled the scene and is still at large, with hundreds of police officers firing on the area. They believe that he remains in the area and ask the residents to stay home. – Amy Spiro (@AmySpiro) April 7, 2022 The motive for the shooting was not immediately clear, but tensions have risen since the recent Palestinian attacks that killed 11 people in Israel. On March 22, four Israelis were killed in a knife attack in Beer Sheva. Five days later, two border guards were shot dead in Chandera. On March 30, two Israelis, two Ukrainians and a police officer were killed in a shooting in Bnei Brak. A woman reacts to the scene of the shooting in Tel Aviv on Thursday [Ariel Schalit/AP] Outside a cafe where shattered windows covered the ground outside the entrance, a man comforted a woman sitting on a stool. “It’s an atmosphere of war. “Soldiers and police are everywhere,” said Benjamin Bloom, who works at a restaurant near the site of the attack. Referring to West Jerusalem, Al Jazeera’s John Holman said the area where the shooting took place was “full of bars and cafes”. “It simply came to our notice then. Local media reported that there were two separate gunmen. This shooting took place in various locations. “It looks like an attack, rather than a criminal shooting,” Holman said. “Israel is sending more police, more security forces to the streets, and the prime minister said last week that anyone with a firearms license should carry a firearm. “This is a moment for which they have prepared, especially since it is the beginning of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, which often brings tensions to this part of the world.” Prime Minister Naftali Bennett was monitoring the situation from the Israeli headquarters, which is also located in the center of Tel Aviv, his office said. The last time such violence took place on Dizengoff Street in Tel Aviv was in 2016, when two people were killed and several others were injured in a bar shooting. The perpetrator was killed several days later after fleeing the scene. US and European envoys to Israel rushed to condemn the shootings on Thursday. Terrified watching another cowardly terrorist attack on innocent civilians, this time in Tel Aviv. We pray for peace and send our condolences to the victims and their families. This has to stop! – Ambassador Tom Nides (@USAmbIsrael) April 7, 2022 Last year, protests and clashes during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan sparked an 11-day war in Gaza. Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian leaders have held a series of meetings in recent weeks, and Israel has taken a number of steps to defuse tensions, including issuing thousands of additional work permits for Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. Prior to the attack, Israel had said it would allow women, children and men over the age of 40 from the occupied West Bank to pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem on Friday, the first weekly prayers in Ramadan. Tens of thousands were expected to attend. Israel occupied East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in the war in the Middle East in 1967. The Palestinians want all three territories to form their future state. The last serious and substantive peace talks collapsed more than a decade ago and Bennett is opposed to the Palestinian state. From one of the shooting locations at #Tel_Aviv pic.twitter.com/QmYYkMrcaq – Ahmed Darawsha (@AhDarawsha) April 7, 2022
