Four people were killed Wednesday in a terrorist attack when two gunmen opened fire in a popular gourmet market in central Tel Aviv, Israeli police said.
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Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai said the suspects sat and ate at a cafe at Sarona Market before carrying out the attack. Both were apprehended. One was badly wounded and hospitalized, and the other was in custody, police said.
One of the attackers was in serious condition and undergoing surgery at Ichilov Hospital, where one of the victims died, according to a hospital official.
Arriving at the scene after returning from a visit to Moscow, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the attacks “cold-blooded murder”, vowing, “we will act firmly and intelligently to fight terrorism”. Sarona, home to dozens of shops, cafes and restaurants, is one of Tel Aviv’s most population destinations and is often crowded with visitors and soldiers in uniform taking a break from their duties at the nearby headquarters.
Israeli police spokesman Luba Samari told USA TODAY the two alleged shooters were Palestinian cousins from Hebron. In March, a Palestinian killed an American tourist and wounded 10 other people in a stabbing spree along the Tel Aviv beach boardwalk.
The group called it a challenge to far-right nationalist Avigdor Lieberman, Israel’s newly appointed defense minister, who must decide how to respond to the violence, possibly with tighter security across the West Bank.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement he was shocked that Hamas leaders “chose to welcome this attack”.
But Tel Aviv, Israel’s most cosmopolitan city, has not been spared.
One woman said she was celebrating her son’s birthday when she heard gunfire and “immediately understood it was a terror attack”.
In the first paragraph of RT’s updated article they keep the initial description of the gunmen, writing “the attackers, wearing black suits described by witnesses as ultra-Orthodox Jewish outfits, have been detained”.
Earlier Thursday, defense officials suspended tens of thousands of special permits given to Palestinians to visit Israel during the current Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
“I’ve been covering too many terror attacks”, Shalmor said in a phone interview at approximately 1 a.m. on Thursday in Israel.
During the recent wave of violence, Israel’s government has repeatedly criticized Palestinian factions for inciting attacks or not doing enough to quell them.
Israeli media reported that two men had opened fire on people in several locations. The area has been a flashpoint for violence in recent months.
Their casualties or by security forces have shot dead the assailants that have been killed as they carried out strikes.
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The word “terrorists” is mention twice in the article after this, but it is not until the fifth paragraph that RT quoted police as saying that the attackers were Palestinian.
