One killed, dozens injured after truck strikes crowded bus stop in central Israel in suspected terror attack

One man is dead and more than 30 others injured after a truck driver ploughed into a group of people outside a military base in central Israel, before he was shot and killed by witnesses.

Israel Police and Israel Defense Forces (IDF) personnel swarmed the site at Glilot, north of Tel Aviv shortly after the incident, which is being investigated as a potential domestic terrorism attack.

Thirty-seven people were injured, including some pinned under the truck, which careered into the back of a bus which had just dropped off passengers.
ISrael
One man has died and more than 37 others have been injured.(ABC News: Haidarr Jones)

Six were listed in a serious condition, and were rushed to a number of hospitals in the area.

One man died in hospital

“The first eight people that I saw on the scene were trapped under the truck, most of their body was under the truck,” paramedic Yissachar Weiss with the Magen David Adom emergency services told the ABC.

“The injuries were also severe, it took us time to remove them.”

He said he believed the driver was unconscious when authorities arrived.
Terrorism investigation underway

Investigators spent hours picking through the wreckage of the truck on Sunday morning, local time, searching for any evidence.

The windscreen of the vehicle was riddled with bullet holes, from the civilian bystanders who opened fire.

Police said the driver was a Palestinian Israeli citizen from Qalansawe, a town around half an hours drive away, and are investigating whether he acted alone.

Chief Superintendent Mirit Ben Mayor said many of those injured were “youngsters”.

“It looks like a terror attack, but before we jump to conclusions we want to make sure,” she told the ABC.
emergency services surround the crashed bus in Ramat Hasharon.
Emergency crews respond to the crash.(AFP: Jack Guez)

Israeli intelligence agency Shin Bet was called in to help with the investigation.

“We’re in a war … and it is a memorial day [for October 7] here in Israel,” Chief Superintendent Ben Mayor said.

“We’re standing right next to a few military bases – which when we take into consideration all the circumstances, it looks like it definitely could be a terror attack.”

The Glilot area, near Herzliya, is home to a number of military and intelligence facilities, including the headquarters of the spy agency Mossad.

Both Iran and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah have claimed to have launched missiles at the base in recent months.
Security minister quick to arrive at scene

Israel’s controversial far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir was quick to arrive at the scene.

He has made a habit of visiting the scenes of alleged attacks by Arab Israelis against Jewish Israelis, pushing his demands for the death penalty for offenders, deportation for their families, and greater access to weapons for the Israeli population.
Itamar Ben-Gvir speaking to media
Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir was quick to the scene.(ABC News: Haidarr Jones)

Mr Ben-Gvir praised those who shot the driver.

“It’s good they opened fire,” he told reporters at the scene.

“It’s not a secret that I think that aside from this action, which is defence, there needs to be a move towards offensive action and from my point of view, that here is capital punishment for terrorists.”

In a separate incident on Sunday, the IDF said it shot and killed a Palestinian “terrorist” who had attempted to ran a defence vehicle near Hizma, north east of Jerusalem.

“The terrorist pulled out a knife from his vehicle, and attempted to carry out a stabbing attack,” the IDF said in a statement.

“The soldiers eliminated the terrorist and thwarted the attempted terror attack.”