A man has died and at least 30 more left injured after a truck rammed into a bus stop north of Tel Aviv in a suspected terror attack.
The incident occurred near Cinema City in Glilot, an area that houses Mossad headquarters and several Israeli Defense Force (IDF) intelligence units.
According to police, the vehicle struck multiple people in the vicinity, leaving dozens wounded.
Truck driver Rami Natur, an Arab Israeli from the town of Qalansawe, central Israel was shot dead by a civilian at the scene.
Yechiel Ben Moshe told the Ynet website: “We were a group of retirees going to Glilot to visit a museum and listen to a lecture.“
“The bus parked, and people got off. A truck came from behind and I heard a huge noise from the truck.
“It drove toward us to run us over.
“Around me, everyone was injured and bleeding, and others were in shock. It looked like an accident at first, but then shots were fired at the terrorist.”
“A truck hit dozens of people who had disembarked at a bus stop. Eight of the wounded were trapped under the truck and others were lying and walking near it,” a medic for Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency service said.
Many of the injured were reportedly pensioners on a day trip to a nearby museum.
Emergency services responded quickly, with an ambulance spokesperson reporting that calls about the suspected ramming attack began around 10am local time. Paramedics provided “medical treatment to dozens of victims on the spot.”
Authorities confirmed that the truck driver was shot near the base of Israel’s 8200 intelligence unit, which has previously been targeted by Hezbollah and Iranian forces.
Pictures and videos circulating online show casualties trapped beneath the front of a white truck while awaiting rescue.
Men can be seen with their legs caught under the bumper, wriggling as they wait for paramedics to free them.
Videos also show paramedics tending to the wounded. In one, there appears to be panic as first responders gather around the injured and urgently call for assistance.
Around 35 people have been rushed to hospital following the attack, according to figures provided by the Magen David Adom ambulance service, with at least six in serious condition.
Far-right National Security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has responsibility for policing, called for the family of the suspected attacker to be deported.
It comes after Israel unleashed a barrage of airstrikes on Iran in recent days.
Israel’s early morning attack on military sites followed Iran’s barrage of ballistic missiles four weeks ago.
The strikes are the first time Israel has been open about attacking Iran.
Its military said it targeted facilities used to make the missiles fired at it, as well as missile launch sites.
