Haifa has killed at least eight people and wounded at least 12 others, officials said Wednesday April 10. Authorities said the bombing, Israel’s first suicide attack in more than a week, occurred early Wednesday, and warned that the death toll could rise.
"To my regret, the sight is horrible," the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ) News Service quoted eye-witness Yitzhak Rotman as saying. "There are many dead bodies, some outside the bus, some inside… The bus is shattered, from one end to the other." A number of passing cars were also hit by the blast and hurled from the highway, wounding some of the motorists, the ICEJ reported.
AMBUSH
The attack came only hours after 13 Israeli soldiers were killed in an ambush in the Jenin refugee camp, where Israel’s army has reportedly met stiff resistance from Palestinian gunmen. Qatar-based al-Jazeera Arabic television said the military wing of the Islamic resistance movement Hamas claimed responsibility for Wednesday suicide bombing.
The developments have underscored concern expressed by some Israeli politicians and US officials that the military offensive in Palestinian territories will only delay peace and not end the terror campaign.
Even the spokesman in the prime minister’s office, admitted that the military offensive had not yet been able to wipe out terrorism, "Apparently the Palestinian terrorists’ appetite for terror has yet to be quenched," he was quoted as saying as news of the latest blast emerged.
"CATASTROPHIC"
"This is simply catastrophic – there are pieces everywhere, people are thrown about in every direction," said another witness, who identified himself as Motti, according to ICEJ News Service.
"The bus was driving about 100-150 metres in front of me. Suddenly, a huge blast, the bus flew in the air, three or four metres, than landed," Motti said. However Palestinian officials have warned that the violence can only end if Israel ends the military occupation of Palestinian territories.
An estimated 100 Palestinians, among them many civilians, have been killed in the Jenin camp over the last week, and there have also been heavy casualties elsewhere. Israeli forces invaded another Palestinian village south of Hebron early Wednesday and arrested several suspected militants, the Voice of America said Wednesday, April 10.
