| 2024 Jaffa shooting | |
|---|---|
| Part of theGaza war | |
 A makeshift memorial at the site of the attack on the day after the attack | |
  Attack site Location in Israel | |
| Location | Jerusalem Boulevard,Tel Aviv, Israel |
| Coordinates | 32°2′46″N34°45′30″E / 32.04611°N 34.75833°E /32.04611; 34.75833 |
| Date | 1 October 2024; 12 months ago (2024-10-01) 19:00 (IDT) |
Attack type | Mass shooting andknife attack |
| Weapons | M16 assault rifle,knife[1][2] |
| Deaths | 7 (+2 perpetrators) |
| Injured | 17 (including anIDF soldier)[3] |
| Perpetrator |  Hamas |
| Assailants | Muhammad Chalaf Sahar Rajab and Hassan Muhammad |
On 1 October 2024, twoHamas gunmen carried out an attack inJaffa,Tel Aviv, Israel. Seven civilians were killed, and seventeen others were injured.[4][5][6] The attack ended when the gunmen were shot dead by an armed civilian and a security guard.[7]
Tensions between Israel and the occupied West Bank have steadily increased since theOctober 7 attacks, whichkilled about 1,200 people and seized about251 hostages. Since the attack about 40 Israeli citizens and security forces have been killed in attacks in both Israel and theoccupied West Bank.[8]
On 30 November 2023, two Hamas affiliated militants exited a car and traveled to a bus stop by theBen-Gurion Boulevard inJerusalem and opened fire, killing three people and wounding others. A responding Israeli civilian;Yuval Castleman drew his personal weapon and killed one of the shooters, before respondingIDF troops shot and killed him believing him to be a militant. Castleman had discarded his gun and raised his hands shouting "I'm Israel, do not shoot" before he was shot.[9][10]
Prior to the shooting, the two attackers entered the Al-Nuzha Mosque through the women's entrance and stashed their bags in the mosque's bathroom, threatening worshipers not to leave. Members of the congregation, indicated that one of the shooters opened the door with aM16 rifle and shouted at them "Nobody go outside! Anyone who goes out is a dead man!" Once the doors were closed the congregation began to call the police.[8]
At approximately 7:00 pm, two men armed with firearms and knives opened fire on pedestrians near theTel Aviv Light Rail's Erlich Station inJaffa, injuring several civilians.[11][12]The Israeli emergency response service, MDA, reported that they had received reports of people injured by gunfire at 7:01 pm.[13]
According to initial reports, there were three locations involved in the attack;Jerusalem Boulevard,Yefet Street, and Gaza Street.[citation needed] An eyewitness at the station claimed that the two men did not appear to be suspicious before the attack, claiming one was carrying an M16 rifle and the other had a polo shirt and pin commemorating the hostages held by Hamas.[8]
A preliminary investigation revealed that the two militants disembarked from the light rail on the Jerusalem Boulevard, drew firearms, and began shooting randomly.[14]
A passerby; Lev Kreitman and a security guard both returned fire and killed the gunmen shortly after the attack began.[7][15] Kreitman was reported to be an Israeli Army reservist, who had recently returned from a 6 monthdeployment to Gaza and a survivor of the 7 October 2023Nova music festival massacre.[16][17]
Seven people were killed and seventeen others were wounded in the attack.[18] Among the dead were three foreign citizens, one each fromGreece,Georgia,[19] andMoldova.[20] The deceased were aged between 24 and 42 years of age.[8] Injured victims were taken to theWolfson Medical Center and theTel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center.[21]
The perpetrators were twoHamas operatives fromHebron in the occupied West Bank, named Muhammad Chalaf Sahar Rajab and Hassan Muhammad Hassan Tamimi. One was aged 19 and the other 25.[22][13] Hamas'sAl-Qassam Brigades claimed responsibility on the day following the attack.[23]
The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) imposed a closure on Hebron, and announced later that they had detained and questioned several people on suspicion of aiding the attackers, purchasing the rifle for attack and getting them into Israel proper without apermit.[8]
Five days after the shooting,another attack occurred at theBeersheba central station, where the assailant opened fire and used a knife to kill one and wound thirteen before being killed by IDF troops.[24]
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, addressed both the attack and theIranian strikes against Israel offering his condolences to the families of those injured or killed in the attack, and his best wishes for the recovery of those injured.[25]
Israel's National Security MinisterItamar Ben-Gvir referenced the missile attacks, stating that he would demand at the cabinet meeting that there was no more time for diplomacy and containment but moving forward the policy should be crushing the militants.[11] Ben-Gvir visited the scene of the shooting and made claims that a nearby mosque may have members that participated in the engagement, and stated that he would close and destroy the mosque if it was deemed true.[7]Yesh Atid MKMerav Ben Ari rebuffed the remarks of Ben-Gvir stating he had "threatened the Arab citizens of Jaffa" and that "he should take hisracism elsewhere."[8]
Minister of FinanceBezalel Smotrich indicated that he would demand at the cabinet meeting that day that family members of the gunmen would be deported toGaza and their homes destroyed.[7]
The Palestinian community inGreece issued a statement claiming that one of the victims, a Greek-Israeli who was not Jewish, "was not an innocent civilian" because he had served in the IDF. This statement was condemned by Greek Health MinisterAdonis Georgiadis, who added that Greece stood with Israel "because Jews also have the right to a homeland where they can finally be safe."[26]
Prominentterrorist attacks against Israelis in the 2020s | |
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Attacks launched byPalestinians from theWest Bank Attacks launched byPalestinians from theGaza Strip Attacks launched fromEgypt Attacks carried out byArab citizens of Israel ‡ indicates the terrorist attack which caused the greatest number of Israeli casualties
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