This photo taken on July 4, 2023 shows the scene of a combined car-ramming and stabbing attack in Tel Aviv, Israel. (Photo by Gil Cohen Magen/Xinhua)
GAZA, July 4 (Xinhua) -- The ruling militia of Gaza Hamas on Tuesday claimed responsibility for a car-ramming attack in Tel Aviv that left at least eight Israelis injured.
The attacker, identified as Abdulwahab Khalayleh, a 20-year-old from a small town near Hebron in the southern West Bank, rammed earlier on Tuesday his vehicle into a group of pedestrians in the city center before being shot and killed by an armed Israeli civilian.
Hamas acknowledged in a statement that Khalayleh was its member, and called him a "martyr" who carried out the attack in "heroic self-defense" against the Israeli occupation forces. The group vowed to continue and escalate its resistance against Israel.
Israeli police said eight Israelis were injured in the attack, three of them in critical condition.
The timing of the attack coincided with a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and security officials to assess the ongoing military operation in the Jenin camp in the West Bank, according to Israel Radio.
This photo taken on July 4, 2023 shows the scene of a combined car-ramming and stabbing attack in Tel Aviv, Israel. (Photo by Gil Cohen Magen/Xinhua)
The operation launched by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Monday has killed 10 Palestinians and injured 120, drawing widespread condemnation from the Palestinians and the international community.
Calling the Israeli operation "a serious violation of international law," the United Nations urged all parties to exercise restraint and work to de-escalate the situation.
The IDF said in a statement that it launched the operation as an "extensive counterterrorism effort in the area of Jenin city and the Jenin camp."
Israel seized the West Bank, along with East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, in the 1967 Middle East war and has maintained control over these territories despite international criticism. The Palestinians wish to establish their future state on these territories. ■
