In what the Israel’s Foreign Ministry referred to as a “terror attack”, a term Israeli officials use for assaults by Palestinians one tourist was killed and seven others were injured. The suspect police officials said was neutralized.
Police and army reserves were immediately mobilized following the attack in Tel Aviv, Israel’s commercial hub Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said, amid expectations that the incident was likely to amplify calls for the right-wing Netanyahu to pursue an even tougher approach towards Palestinians.
Israeli police said a car swereved lanes and intentionally rammed into a group of people near a popular seaside park before flipping over.
The attacks came hours after Israel bombarded Lebanon following rocket fire from there that the army blamed on Palestinian militants.
Earlier on Friday, two women were killed and a third seriously wounded in a shooting attack in the north of the Jordan Valley.
This escalation in tension comes after Israeli forces stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque, on Wednesday in occupied East Jerusalem, attacking Palestinians as they gathered for Ramadan prayers.
Hamas did not claim it was behind the shooting but praised it as “a natural response to [Israel’s] ongoing crimes against the al-Aqsa mosque and its barbaric aggression against Lebanon and the steadfast Gaza”.
More than 90 Palestinians – militants and civilians – have been killed by Israeli forces.