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2022 Tel Aviv shooting

Coordinates: 32°05′01″N 34°46′28″E / 32.08361°N 34.77444°E / 32.08361; 34.77444
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Not to be confused with 2022 Bnei Brak shootings.

2022 Tel Aviv shooting
Part of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict
Crime scene
2022 Tel Aviv shooting is located in Tel Aviv with neighborhoods
2022 Tel Aviv shooting
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The location of Dizengoff Street in Tel Aviv, Israel
Native nameפיגוע הירי ברחוב דיזנגוף (2022)
LocationIsrael Ilka bar, Dizengoff Street, Tel Aviv, Israel
Coordinates32°05′01″N 34°46′28″E / 32.08361°N 34.77444°E / 32.08361; 34.77444
DateApril 7, 2022 (2022-04-07)
Attack type
Mass shooting
WeaponPistol
Deaths3 civilians[1][a]
Injured6 civilians[2]
PerpetratorRaad (or Ra'ad) Fathi Khazem
MotivePalestinian political violence

On 7 April 2022, a mass shooting took place on Dizengoff Street in Tel Aviv, Israel. Three Israeli civilians were killed and six were injured.[3][4]

Raad (or Ra'ad) Fathi Khazem, a 28-year-old Palestinian from Jenin, killed three civilians and injured six.[5]

Background

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See also: 2022 Beersheba attack, 2022 Hadera shooting, and 2022 Bnei Brak shootings

Three terror attacks occurred in late March, two of which were carried out by Islamic State supporters. A total of 11 people were killed, making it one of the deadliest waves of attacks in the country in recent years.[6] The deadliest of the previous attacks was the drive-by shooting in Bnei Brak.

Three other major attacks have historically taken place in Dizengoff Street. In the 1990s, during the Oslo years following the First Intifada, Hamas suicide bombers killed 22 people in 1994 and 13 people in 1996 in attacks on Dizengoff Street. In 2016, another Islamic State supporter killed three people in a mass shooting.[7]

Attack

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The scene at the Ilka bar after the attack

At around 9:00 p.m., a shooter reportedly clad in black clothing opened fire at three locations on Dizengoff Street, a major street in central Tel Aviv, including at the Ilka Bar. Ten people were transported to Ichilov Hospital. Two of them, both men aged 27,[8] died of their injuries.[9] Six other people were wounded, including three critically.[5] A day later, 35-year-old kayaker Barak Lufan, who was injured during the attack, died due to his wounds, bringing the death toll to three.[10]

The gunman fled on foot and remained at large several hours after the shooting, prompting an extensive manhunt by security forces.[11][12]

About 1,000 soldiers and police officers participated in the manhunt, including special forces soldiers from the elite Sayeret Matkal, LOTAR Eilat, and Shaldag units. Tel Aviv residents were instructed to remain indoors and keep away from windows and balconies. On the early morning of 8 April, after about nine hours, he was found hiding in a mosque in Jaffa and killed in a gunfight with Shin Bet agents and Israeli police Yamam officers.[13][14][12][15]

Perpetrator

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The gunman was identified as Raad Khazem, a 28-year-old Palestinian from Jenin in the northern West Bank.[6][16] Khazem had prayed at a mosque in Yefet Street before the shootings, which was also where he was later killed. His ties to any militant groups were unclear.[13]

According to information released by the Israel Defense Forces on 10 April, Khazem had previously gotten into a financial dispute with his neighbours in Jenin. Khazem received death threats from his neighbours, who eventually tried to shoot him dead. This led to Khazem acquiring his gun.[17]

His father, Fathi, served as a security officer for the Palestinian Authority and had spent time in Israeli prison in the past.[18]

Khazem's family reacted positively to the news of the attack and praised him as a hero.[19] Raad Khazem's brother, Abed, was killed on 28 September 2022, when their father's home was hit by a missile during an Israeli raid in Jenin. Three other people were also killed during the raid.[20]

Victims

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The attacker killed Tomer Morad, Eytam Magini, and Barak Lufan. Morad and Magini, both 27 years old, were from Kfar Saba. Lufan died the day after the attack from his wounds;[21] he was a former Olympian kayaker, having represented Israel in the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Olympics.[4]

Aftermath

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Thousands of Palestinians from the city of Jenin, its neighboring villages and the Jenin refugee camp, went towards the home of the shooter's family in the city to express their support. In addition, "Allahu Akbar" chants, nationalist songs, distribution of sweets, and messages of support for the attacker were heard through the public address system. His father, Fathi Khazem, a retired lieutenant colonel in the national security of the Palestinian Authority, praised the attack carried out by his son.[citation needed]

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned "the killing of Israeli civilians", warning that the murder of civilians on both sides would only lead to "a further deterioration of the situation".[6] However, Akram Rajoub, who serves as Abbas' governor in Jenin, praised Hazem as “a Fatah warrior".[22]

Palestinian militant groups such as Hamas did not claim responsibility, but condoned and celebrated the attack, claiming it was the "natural and legitimate response to the escalation of the occupation's crimes against our people, our land, Jerusalem and al-Aqsa Mosque." Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine echoed Hamas' response, and warned that further "incursions" into al-Aqsa Mosque would only lead to "more resistance and ransom operations."[15]

U.S. ambassador to Israel Tom Nides tweeted that he was "horrified to see another cowardly attack on innocent civilians", and EU Ambassador to Israel Dimiter Tzantchev stated that he was "deeply worried about reports about another terror attack against Israeli civilians".[15] U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also condemned the attack.[6]

Bahrain issued a condemnation of the shooting, which described it as a "terrorist operation."[23]

In response to the attack, the Israel Defense Forces invaded Jenin, raiding Khazem's family home to map it for demolition. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett granted "all security forces full freedom" of operations in the West Bank. "There are not and will not be limits for this war," Bennett said. "We are granting full freedom of action to the army, the Shin Bet [domestic security agency] and all security forces in order to defeat the terror."[24]

On 9 April, the IDF killed a Palestinian man belonging to Islamic Jihad. According to local authorities the operation also wounded 13 others, including a 19-year-old woman with a bullet to her stomach.[25] Israel deployed additional engineering troops to the "seam zone" with the West Bank in order to patch holes in the security barrier.[26]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ This figure does not include the shooter, who was shot and killed by police a day later at a different location.

References

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  1. ^ זקן, דני (7 April 2022). "הרוג נוסף באירוע הירי בתל אביב: ברק לופן, נשוי ואב לשלושה". Globes (in Hebrew). Archived from the original on 11 April 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  2. ^ הפיגוע בתל אביב Archived 16 April 2022 at the Wayback Machine, המרכז למורשת המודיעין, 11 April 2022
  3. ^ Ahronheim, Anna; Joffre, Tzvi (7 April 2022). "After long manhunt, Tel Aviv terrorist found, killed by security forces". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 9 April 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  4. ^ a b "Third victim of Tel Aviv terror attack a former Israeli Olympian". Jerusalem Post. 8 April 2022. Archived from the original on 10 April 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  5. ^ a b "תגובות פלסטיניות לפיגוע בתל אביב (7 באפריל, 2022) ולפעילות כוחות הביטחון הישראלים ביהודה ושומרון בעקבותיו". מרכז המידע למודיעין ולטרור על שם אלוף מאיר עמית (in Hebrew). 11 April 2022. Archived from the original on 7 April 2023. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d "Israel: Palestinian gunman killed after deadly attack at Tel Aviv bar". BBC News. 8 April 2022. Archived from the original on 8 April 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  7. ^ "Shooting in popular Tel Aviv area kills 2 Israelis; 8 wounded". Al Jazeera. 7 April 2022. Archived from the original on 9 April 2022. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  8. ^ "Here's how things stand 3 hours after Tel Aviv shooting". The Times of Israel. 7 April 2022. Archived from the original on 8 April 2022. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  9. ^ "Tel Aviv terror victims named as 27-year-olds Tomer Morad, Eytam Magini". The Times of Israel. 8 April 2022. Archived from the original on 8 April 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  10. ^ "Barak Lufan, 35, critically wounded in Tel Aviv attack, succumbs to wounds, raising death count to 3". The Times of Israel. 8 April 2022. Archived from the original on 8 April 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  11. ^ Kingsley, Patrick (7 April 2022). "Gunman Escapes After Killing 2 in Tel Aviv, in Latest Attack in Israel". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 7 April 2022. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  12. ^ a b Awad, Ammar; Hayoun, Dedi; Rabinovitch, Ari (7 April 2022). Goller, Howard (ed.). "At least 2 dead in attack at Tel Aviv bar, police say". Reuters. Archived from the original on 19 November 2022. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  13. ^ a b "Officials said to believe Tel Aviv terrorist set out for attack from Jaffa mosque". The Times of Israel. 8 April 2022. Archived from the original on 8 April 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  14. ^ "Police criticize decision to send IDF troops into Tel Aviv after terror attack – report". The Times of Israel. 8 April 2022. Archived from the original on 9 April 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  15. ^ a b c Ahronheim, Anna; Joffre, Tzvi (7 April 2022). "After night-long manhunt, Tel Aviv terrorist found, killed by security forces". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 9 April 2022. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  16. ^ "Report: Tel Aviv terrorist found and killed in Jaffa". The Times of Israel. 8 April 2022. Archived from the original on 8 April 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  17. ^ Marsden, Ariella (10 April 2022). "IDF shoots Tel Aviv terrorist's brothers in Jenin". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 10 April 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  18. ^ Boxerman, Aaron (8 April 2022). "Tel Aviv terrorist, shot and killed near mosque, named as Ra'ad Hazem from Jenin". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 9 April 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  19. ^ Joffre, Tzvi (8 April 2022). "Tel Aviv terrorist's family praises attack: 'Victory will come soon'". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 9 April 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  20. ^ "Israeli forces kill four Palestinians, wound dozens in Jenin raid". Al Jazeera. 28 September 2022. Archived from the original on 28 September 2022. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  21. ^ "Barak Lufan, 35, dies of wounds from Tel Aviv terror attack, bringing toll to 3". The Times of Israel. 8 April 2022. Archived from the original on 11 April 2022.
  22. ^ Boxerman, Aaron (10 April 2022). "Jenin governor says Tel Aviv shooter not a terrorist, deems him 'Fatah fighter'". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 10 April 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  23. ^ "Bahrain condemns 'terrorist operation' shooting in Tel Aviv". Reuters. 8 April 2022. Archived from the original on 18 April 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  24. ^ "Israeli leader grants forces 'full freedom' after Tel Aviv attack". Al Jazeera. 8 April 2022. Archived from the original on 16 April 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  25. ^ "Israeli army kills one Palestinian in Jenin refugee camp raid". Al Jazeera. 9 April 2022. Archived from the original on 17 April 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  26. ^ Fabian, Emanuel (13 April 2022). "Amid terror warnings, security forces begin to patch holes in West Bank barrier". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 13 April 2022. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
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