| Dizengoff Center suicide bombing | |
|---|---|
 The mall after the bombing | |
 Interactive map of Dizengoff Center suicide bombing | |
| Native name | הפיגוע בדיזנגוף סנטר |
| Location | 32°04′34″N34°46′29″E / 32.07611°N 34.77472°E /32.07611; 34.77472 Tel Aviv,Israel |
| Date | March 4, 1996; 29 years ago (1996-03-04) c. 4:00 pm (GMT+2) |
| Target | Dizengoff Center |
Attack type | Suicide bomber |
| Weapon | Suicide vest |
| Deaths | 14 (including the perpetrator) |
| Injured | 125 |
| Perpetrator | Hamas |
| Participant | 1 |
TheDizengoff Center suicide bombing was aPalestinian suicide terrorist attack which took place on March 4, 1996, on the eve of the Jewish holiday ofPurim. Thesuicide bomber blew himself up outsideDizengoff Center in downtownTel Aviv, killing 13 Israelis[1] and wounding 130 more. The terrorist attack was the fourth suicide bombing in Israel in nine days, bringing the death toll during that span to over 60.[2]
After theShin Bet assassinated Hamas military leaderYahya Ayyash on 5 January 1996,Mohammed Deif, who later served as commander of theQassam Brigades, organized a mass-casualty bombing campaign inside Israel as retaliation, including the Dizengoff Center suicide bombing in Tel Aviv and the twoJaffa Road bus bombings in Jerusalem. These operations were, in their scale, scope and sophistication, different and larger than any attacks of the past, and it has been alleged[by whom?] that both Syria and Iran had helped in their planning and financing. According to a report,Syrian Minister of DefenseMustafa Tlass instructedGhazi Kanaan, the commander of Syrian forces inLebanon, to establish links betweenHezbollah and Hamas fighters, who were then trained both in Lebanon and inIran and participated in the retaliatory operations for the murder of Ayyash.[3][4] According toMike Kelly, Hamas operative Hassan Salameh, who planned three of the attacks, was trained in Iran.[5] In 2000, families of American victims of the attacks filed a lawsuit against Tlass, Kanaan and Iranian Minister of IntelligenceAli Fallahian.[6][7][8]
The suicide bomber detonated just before 4 pm (GMT+2) outside the Dizengoff Center, the largest shopping mall in Tel Aviv. That day the center was particularly crowded for the eve of Purim. Many in the crowd were children dressed in costume for the holiday. The bomber sought to enter the mall but turned back because of the police presence. Instead, he went into the busy intersection where a large number of pedestrians were crossing the street and set off his 20-kilogram (44 lb) nail bomb.[1][2] Following the attack, a phone call to an Israeli radio station apparently from a Hamas representative identified the attacker as Abdel-Rahim Ishaq, a 24-year-old resident ofRamallah.[2]
