Dizengoff Center suicide bombing

Dizengoff Center suicide bombing
The attack site The attack site
Location	Tel Aviv
Date	March 4, 1996 approximately 4:00 pm (GMT+2)
Target	Dizengoff Center
Attack type	Suicide bomber
Death(s)	13 Israelis (12 civilians, 1 soldier) + 1 bomber
Injured	130
Perpetrator(s)	Hamas

The Dizengoff Center suicide bombing was a Hamas terrorist attack on March 4, 1996 on the eve of the Jewish holiday of Purim. The Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up outside Dizengoff Center in downtown Tel Aviv, killing 13 Israelis (12 civilians and one soldier)^[1] and wounding about 130 more. The attack was the fourth suicide bombing in Israel in nine days, bringing the death toll during that span to over 60.^[2]

The attack

Dizengoff Center (looking east).

The suicide bomber detonated just before 4 pm (GMT+2) outside the Dizengoff Center, the largest shopping mall in Tel Aviv. That day the center was particularly crowded for the eve of Purim. Many in the crowd were children dressed in costume for the holiday. The bomber sought to enter the mall but turned back because of the police presence. Instead, he went into the busy intersection where a large number of pedestrians were crossing the street and set off his 20-kilogram nail bomb.^[1][2]

Fatalities

The suicide bomber killed 13 Israelis (12 civilians and one soldier):^[3]

Kobi Zaharon, 13, of Tel Aviv Yovav Levy, 13, of Tel Aviv Dana Guterman, 14, of Moshav Mishmeret Bat-Hen Shahak, 15, of Tel Mond Hadas Dror, 15, of Tel Mond Inbar Atiya, 22, of Ramat Ef'al[4] St.-Sgt. Assaf Wachs, 21, of Holon

Tali Gordon, 24, of Givatayim[4] Gail Belkin, 48, of Herzliya Dan Tversky, 58, of Tel Aviv Leah Mizrahi, 60, of Tel Aviv Sylvia Bernstein, 73, of Hod Hasharon Rahel Sela, 82, of Tel Aviv

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Suicide and Other Bombing Attacks in Israel Since the Declaration of Principles (Sept 1993)". Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-%20Obstacle%20to%20Peace/Palestinian%20terror%20since%202000/Suicide%20and%20Other%20Bombing%20Attacks%20in%20Israel%20Since. Retrieved 20 May 2010. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Serge Schmemann (5 March 2010). "Bombing in Israel:The Overiew;4th Terror Blast in Israel Kills 14 at Mall in Tel Aviv; Nine-Day Toll Grows to 61". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1996/03/05/world/bombing-israel-overview-4th-terror-blast-israel-kills-14-mall-tel-aviv-nine-day.html?scp=1&sq=dizengoff%20center%20suicide&st=cse&pagewanted=print. 
3. ^ "Fatal Terrorist Attacks in Israel Since the DOP (Sept 1993)". Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 24 September 2000. http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Palestinian+terror+before+2000/Fatal+Terrorist+Attacks+in+Israel+Since+the+DOP+-S.htm. Retrieved 20 May 2010. 
4. ^ ^{a b} "Good-Bye Tali and Inbar". Tel Aviv University News. Inbar Fund. Spring 1996. http://www.keren-inbar.org.il/INB/Front/Document.asp?ID=22406&ENGLISH=true. Retrieved 20 May 2010. 

External links

• The Bat-Chen Diaries
• Patches, a memorial film
• The Dizengoff Memorial Quilt Project