Tragic shooting in Tel Aviv: at least seven dead

On October 1, 2024, an automatic weapons attack in the Jaffa district of Tel Aviv left at least seven people dead and 17 wounded, according to a report from Ichilov Hospital. The attack was orchestrated by two assailants who opened fire after getting off a streetcar at the Sderot-Yerushalayim stop. According to the Israeli authorities, the assailants were “neutralized” at the scene.

The circumstances of the attack

The incident occurred at around 7 p.m. on Jerusalem Boulevard, a busy tree-lined street frequented by many public transport users. Initial reports describe a chaotic scene. The gunmen, armed with rifles and knives, began their attack by opening fire inside a streetcar, targeting the passengers, before continuing their deadly actions on foot, attacking people on the street.

One witness, Motti, owner of a nearby kiosk, described the events: “We heard heavy gunfire coming from everywhere. Frightened, we went outside and saw figures running down the street, obviously terrorists. It was a very harsh scene.”

A doctor from the Magen David Adom association, Yosef Kurdi, also reported finding gunshot wounds lying near the railroad tracks, as well as near a kiosk and in a synagogue.

Identification of the assailants and background

The two suspects, identified by Israeli police as Mehmed Khalaf Saher Rajab and Hassan Mohammed Hassan Tamimi, are Palestinians from Hebron in the West Bank. No organization has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, but the authorities state that “the two terrorists are residents of the Palestinian territories”, one having been neutralized and the other hospitalized in a serious condition.

A climate of growing tension

The shooting comes against a backdrop of heightened tensions, with reports of Iran firing missiles into Israel on the same day. Although the relationship between these two events remains uncertain, the Israeli army reported that nearly 200 missiles had been fired, prompting alerts across the country. Paramedics reported two minor injuries in Israel, while a Palestinian was killed in Jericho by missile debris.