The Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) internal security service is involved in the investigation into an explosion that killed one person and wounded another in south Tel Aviv on Sunday night.
The agency’s involvement in the investigation could indicate there are indications that the deadly blast was terror-related.
“Around 8 p.m., an explosive device exploded on Lehi Road. As a result of the blast, one person, whose identity is not yet known, was killed and another person was moderately wounded,” police said.
“Forces from the Tel Aviv District arrived at the scene quickly, and the district commander and the Ayalon District commander are currently assessing the situation at the scene, all directions of the investigation are being examined,” the Israel Police added in the statement posted to X.
A middle-aged man was killed in the blast. The second victim, a 33-year-old male, was evacuated to Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov Hospital).
A video of the man the police currently suspect was carrying the bomb in his knapsack was released. It is now believed that the second man was an innocent bystander who was walking by when the bomb exploded.
הולך עם תיק גב, דקות לפני הפיצוץ | תיעוד: האדם שנהרג בפיצוץ בת"א@galdjerassi https://t.co/GFrg7OsRmd pic.twitter.com/N4Lj3G0WIM
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“We were called to the scene after citizens heard a loud explosion,” Magen David Adom first responder Nitzan Faraj said in a statement. “When we arrived, we saw the truck on fire, and next to it, a man about 50 years old was lying unconscious with severe multi-system injuries.”
“Following medical tests, he was found without a pulse and not breathing, and all we could do was pronounce him dead on the spot,” said the paramedic.
Tel Aviv Police District Commander Peretz Amar told reporters that an initial investigation showed that the person killed “was not an innocent civilian but a person who carried an explosive device on him.
“Is it criminal-related or an attack? It is too early to say. The identity of the person is critical to determine this,” stated Amar.
Earlier on Sunday, two Israeli men in their 20s were lightly wounded in a car explosion on Shalom Aleichem Street in Ashkelon, in an incident that was ruled a criminal incident by authorities.
