Israel: Italian tourist killed, seven others injured in ‘terror attack’ in central Tel Aviv

Israeli officials said on Friday (April 7) that an Italian tourist was killed and seven others were injured in a terror attack at a promenade near the seashore in Tel Aviv when a driver rammed his car into a group of tourists.Speaking to the news agency AFP, a police spokesperson said, "The terrorist was neutralised, it was a terror attack against civilians, a car ramming attack".

The deceased tourist was later identified as Italian national Alessandro Parini, a 35-year-old lawyer from Rome. The wounded victims were also tourists from Italy and the United Kingdom, according to hospital officials. However, they were not named, Times of Israel newspaper reported.

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed solidarity with Israel following the 'cowardly attack' in Tel Aviv.“Deep sorrow and condolences for the death of one of our nationals, Alessandro Parini, in the terrorist attack that took place in the evening in Tel Aviv. Condolences to the victim’s family, to the wounded, and solidarity with the State of Israel for the cowardly attack,” Meloni wroteon Twitter.

The 'terrorist'was later named Yousef Abu Jaber, 45, a resident of Kafr Qassem. He reportedly had no known prior security offences, the newspaper reported. Officials of Israel's security agencyShin Betand police were at Jaber’s home in the central Arab-majority city on Friday night to question his family members.

According to the police, the driver rammed into a group of people near a popular seaside park. Surveillance camera footage of the incident, which was shared on social media, purportedly showed the attacker’s vehicle speeding toward pedestrians walking near the park, before overturning.

The US State Department also condemned the Tel Aviv attack with Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel saying that the US “stands with the government and people of Israel.”

Following the attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the mobilisation of police and army reservists. "The Prime Minister has instructed the Israel Police to mobilise all reserve border police units and has directed the IDF to mobilise additional forces to confront the terror attacks," an official statement read.

The car-ramming attack comes after two Israeli sisters were killed and their mother seriously wounded in a shooting attack in the occupied West Bank.

No group has claimed responsibility for either of the attacks which come afterIsrael launched air strikes and an artillery bombardment before dawn in response to rocket firingfrom the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.

On Friday,the army said it had shot down a drone that entered Israel's airspace from Lebanon, without elaborating.

(With inputs from agencies)

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