“They were just waiting for the tram,” wrote someone near a window at the stop where two gunmen opened fire, killing at least seven people, in south Tel Aviv on Tuesday night.
On Wednesday, just hours before sunset and the start of the Jewish New Year, the holiday of Rosh Hashanah, many people gathered and lit candles on the sidewalk of the boulevardin this neighborhood of Jaffa, known for its mixed population: Jews and Arabs live side by side.
“Today is a celebration in IsraelI hope we pass in silence. I sincerely hope we have peace so we don’t have to worry when we go out on the road. When are we going to catch the train,” said Shraya Harer, 21, who until recently lived nearby and came to light a candle in memory of the victims.
The attack
Police said the perpetrators of yesterday’s attack were two Palestinians aged 19 and 25 from Hebron, in the occupied West Bank. The armed men boarded the tram and opened fire on the passengers. They then continued on foot, targeting pedestrians, before being stopped by a security patrol and an armed citizen who killed one attacker and seriously injured the second.
The attack came at a time when an Iranian missile attack on Israel was underway, with warning sirens blaring and explosions sounding across the country.
The victims of yesterday’s attack in Jaffa included three young women – one of them was a mother who used her body to protect her baby, according to local media. Sixteen people were injured, police said.
Israeli security forces arrested several people in the Hebron and Jerusalem areas on suspicion of helping the attackers. Police call the attack a “terrorist” attack, but there is no immediate claim of responsibility by the Palestinians or other armed groups.
“I’m terrified. I live about five minutes away. I use this attitude every day. I was here 20 minutes before the terrorist attack,” said 25-year-old student Alex Kaidrikov. “Yesterday was horrible.”
Sources: AMPE, Reuters
