Series of EmergencyNet News Reports Concerning A Major Bombing in Tel Aviv, Israel: 
01-02 June 2001

TODAY'S CENTRAL FOCUS

Eighteen Killed In Tel Aviv Suicide Bomb Attack

As a crowd of young people waited to enter a Tel Aviv disco on Friday night, a suicide bomber blew himself up and took 17 Israelis with himself. Ninety people, many of them teenagers, were wounded in the blast that was said to be the worst terrorist attack against Israel since fighting with the Palestinians erupted in September. Sixty-seven people remain hospitalized, 15 in critical or serious condition.

Israel's Cabinet met for an emergency session -- an extremely rare occurrence on the Jewish Sabbath. There was growing expectation that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon would order a harsh retaliation against Yasser Arafat's government. In what appears to be an effort to stave off such a retaliatory attack, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat said on Saturday that he was ready to do everything necessary to bring about an "immediate and unconditional ceasefire." Speaking at his headquarters in the West Bank town of Ramallah, and prompted by a strong statement yesterday from U.S. President G. W. Bush, Arafat said he "condemned the attack."

Israeli authorities have ordered a full and complete closure of the West Bank, following the suicide bomb attack. The army said no Palestinians would be allowed to leave or enter the territory. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is now under increasing pressure, both within the cabinet and from the public, to abandon Israel's limited unilateral ceasefire. More than 90 Israelis were treated for wounds inflicted when nails from the bomb tore through a crowd waiting to get inside a disco. The attack happened late in the evening outside a club, crowded with young people going out for the weekend. Israeli crowds at the scene of the attack openly demanded war on the Palestinians.

Witnesses said people were lining up to enter the Pascha club, popular with young emigre Russians, when a suicide bomber made his way to the door and detonated himself. The bomb sprayed nails and bullets into the surrounding crowd. Thirty ambulances raced to the scene of the blast and helicopters were also used to transfer the injured to hospitals in the Tel Aviv area.

Both Islamic Jihad and the Hamas have carried out bomb attacks against Israeli targets in recent months. HAMAS said it had ten suicide bombers at the ready and so far has claimed responsibility for eight bombings since September. However, neither group has claimed responsibility for this latest attack - Islamic Jihad denied initial press reports that it was their work.

INSTANT 17:00CDT - 01 June 2001

Fifteen People Believed Dead in Tel Aviv Blast; Fifty Others Wounded

Tel Aviv, Israel (EmergencyNet News) -- Tel Aviv police chief, Yossi Setbon, is being quoted by Israeli radio as saying that at least fifteen (15) people have been killed in a blast tonight, in what is being called a "suicide bombing" by authorities. According to witnesses, the bomber mixed with a crowd of people outside a dance club and then detonated explosives strapped to his body. The results were devastating.

Emergency Medical Services (EMS) officials say that in excess of fifty (50) people have also been injured in the blast, several of them critically, and it is believed that the death toll may rise.  EmergencyNet News continues to monitor events in Tel Aviv and will provide you with updates as the circumstances warrant...   

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16:00CDT - 01 June 2001

Explosion Reported on Tel Aviv Beach; At Least 30 Injured

Tel Aviv, Israel (EmergencyNet News) -- Reports are coming in to EmergencyNet News concerning a reported explosion at a popular and heavily occupied promenade and beach area in Tel Aviv. At least thirty (30) people are thought to have been injured, although specific details aren't yet available. There also may be fatalities at the scene. At least thirty (30) ambulances have reportedly been dispatched to the scene.

Unofficial eyewitness reports suggest that the blast was caused by a "suicide bomber," though that has not been confirmed by official Israeli sources. The incident reportedly happened at about 23:00hrs., on Friday evening, Tel Aviv time. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast.

© EmergencyNet News Service, 2001. All rights reserved. May not be redistributed or otherwise published without the expressed permission of ERRI/EmergencyNet News.

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