Hamas school bus attack
Encyclopedia
The Hamas school bus attack was a 7 April 2011 incident in which Palestinian
militants in the Gaza Strip
fired a Kornet laser-guided anti-tank missile over the border at an Israel
i school bus
. Hamas
militants claimed responsibility. The group had largely held its fire since the last major Israeli offensive in Gaza, but said the attack was in retaliation for the killing of some of its leaders the previous week.
Hamas said the bus was traveling a road often used by Israeli military vehicles and it was not known at the time of the attack that it carried schoolchildren. Israel said the bus' yellow color made it easily identifiable to whoever had fired the missile and accused the group of "crossing a line."
The missile hit the bus after all but one of the children had been dropped off at the kibbutz
where they lived, and the bus had traveled just 50 metres beyond its that last stop there. The only remaining passenger, a 16-year-old boy named Daniel Viflic, was critically injured with shrapnel wounds to the head and died from his injuries on 17 April. The driver was lightly injured.
Fears that the attack would lead to a second Gaza War did not materialize, but the incident was followed by a several-day stretch of violence in which Palestinians launched over 100 projectiles at Israel in which no Israelis were killed, and at least 20 Israeli strikes from its army, navy, and air force that left 19 dead and at least 45 wounded in Gaza by the time hostilities had ceased.
Reports varied widely as to how many of the Gazans killed were civilians versus militants: Haaretz
said just two were civilians, AFP
reported while the violence was still ongoing that seven civilians were killed, and the BBC
just said that "many" were. The dead in Gaza included a mother and her 21-year-old daughter, a policeman, and a 10-year-old boy. News agency Agence France-Presse
reported that the interval following the bus attack included "the deadliest 24 hours of violence in the Strip since the end of the Gaza war" two years previously.
The attack on the school bus was condemned by the United Nations, the United States, France, and the United Kingdom, and multiple calls were issued for cessation of the mutual hostilities that followed.
had largely held its fire since the last major Israeli offensive in Gaza, in December, 2008, but stated that three of its leaders had been killed by Israel the previous weekend, 2–3 April 2011, and that the attack was a retaliation for those killings. In the 48 hours prior to the attack, Palestinians had also fired a separate anti-tank missile at an Israeli target. Anti-tank missiles, unlike rockets and mortars, are extremely accurate, and their use requires more skill.
, painted with a bright yellow color scheme to be easily recognizable as a vehicle transporting school children, was dropping off students near their homes in their villages.
The missile hit the rear of the bus after all but one of the children had been dropped off at the kibbutz
of Sa'ad, and the bus had travelled just 50 metres beyond its last stop there. The sole remaining passenger, Daniel Viflic, a 16-year-old yeshiva
student from Beit Shemesh, was critically injured by shrapnel which penetrated his brain. Viflic also suffered shrapnel wounds to head, neck and body, and massive blood loss. He temporarily stopped breathing, which prevented oxygen from reaching his brain. Viflic had been on the bus riding along with driver Zion Yemini, who was a family friend. The driver was lightly injured in the leg, and was able to pull the bus over to the side of the road, where he carried Viflic out of the vehicle.
Paramedics arrived quickly and began resucitating Viflic. Hamas militants launched a mortar barrage timed to coincide with the arrival of paramedics, and medics attending to Viflic had to work under heavy mortar fire. Mortar fire delayed Viflic's evacuation. Viflic was airlifted in critical condition to Soroka Medical Center
in Beersheba
, where he was placed in the pediatric intensive care unit. Shortly afterward, his brain stopped functioning. Following an initial brain scan, doctors concluded that Viflic had sustained a permanent brain injury. Doctors tried every treatment for cases of severe head trauma such as medication, special respiratory therapy, and attempts to lower his body temperature. Viflic remained in a coma on life support, showing no evidence of any brain activity. His condition was upgraded to extremely critical on 12 April. Viflic died on 17 April, ten days after the attack, as a result of a severe brain injury.
The military wing of Hamas claimed responsibility. The group had largely held its fire since the last major Israeli offensive in Gaza, but said the attack was in retaliation for the killing of some of its leaders the previous week.
Because the Russian-made Kornet is an accurate, laser-guided weapon, it appeared that the bus was intentionally targeted. Hamas said the bus was travelling a road often used by Israeli military vehicles and it was not known at the time of the attack that it carried schoolchildren. Israel said the bus' yellow color made it easily identifiable to whoever had fired the rocket, and accused the group of "crossing a line."
The attackers were never apprehended.
immediately bombed two smuggling tunnels in the northern Gaza Strip, injuring four people. Rocket and mortar fire from Gaza began a few hours later, and at least 45 additional Palestinian projectiles were fired into Israel over a three-hour period. No one was killed, but residents were instructed to stay inside their homes, children were ordered to stay inside schools, and police sealed roads in the area for fear of additional attacks. One mortar shell damaged a home in the Eshkol Regional Council
, but caused no injuries. A Grad rocket fired at Ashkelon
was intercepted by an Iron Dome
battery, marking the first successful interception of a short-range rocket in history. Immediately afterward, an Israeli aircraft fired at the militant squad that had launched the rocket, and confirmed a hit.
The Israeli Air Force
and Israeli Navy launched missile attacks on targets in Gaza, while the Israeli Army
attacked Gazan targets with artillery and tank fire. News agency Agence France-Presse
reported that the effect of Israel's actions included "the deadliest 24 hours of violence" in Gaza since the Gaza War had ended, two years previously. Israeli forces had conducted more than 20 strikes by the following day. Palestinian militants fired 6 rockets and 24 mortar shells at Israel. An Iron Dome
battery intercepted three rockets fired at Ashkelon
; a fourth landed in an open field near the city. An Israeli aircraft fired at the Hamas cell that had launched the rockets and scored a direct hit. Israeli aircraft bombed two Palestinian militant cells east of Khan Yunis
as they fired mortars at Israel. Palestinian casualties stood at 14 dead and 45 wounded. At least five were Hamas militants, and one was a policeman. Among the civilians reported killed in Gaza were a mother and her 21-year-old daughter. The Israeli military admitted that civilians had been apparently harmed in its attacks, saying that "Hamas chooses to operate from within civilian populations and uses them as human shields". . Palestinian rocket fire had seriously damaged chicken coops and a factory, and damaged a residential structure in a kibbutz
in the Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council
.
Concerns that this escalation might develop into a Second Gaza War did not materialize.
said to United Nations Security Council
ambassadors: "I was just informed that an Israeli bus carrying students from school was hit by a missile fired from Gaza. This is another example of how Gaza has turned into a terror state. Can the United Nations guarantee that terrorist acts will not happen? None of you would give up on the security of your country, and Israel will also defend itself. Hundreds of thousands of mothers and children in southern Israel cannot sleep peacefully at night as a result of the rocket fire from Gaza."
Supranational United Nations Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon
condemned the attack and urged Israel to act with "maximum restraint."
International The French Foreign Ministry released a statement saying: "France strongly condemns the missile, rocket and mortar attacks against civilians yesterday in southern Israel. In this regard, firing an anti-tank missile at a school bus represents a new escalation. We call for an immediate halt to this violence. France deplores the humanitarian consequences of Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip that came in response, resulting in several civilian casualties. It is urgent to end the escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip. We call on all the parties to respect a lasting truce. These events remind us, as if it were necessary, of the urgency of reaching a negotiated resolution to the conflict.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague
said: "I unreservedly condemn today’s attack from Gaza on a bus carrying school children in southern Israel. The initial reports we have received suggest the bus was deliberately targeted and that a 16-year-old boy has been critically injured. This is a despicable and cowardly act that stands in stark contrast to people’s desire for peaceful reform across the region. Violence will never deliver peace. I reiterate that Hamas must halt these strikes immediately, and rein in other militant factions in Gaza. This attack further highlights Israel’s legitimate security concerns. As I have made clear, Israel has every right to protect its people.".
A US State Department official said: "We condemn the attack on innocent civilians in southern Israel in the strongest possible terms, and on-going rocket fire from Gaza. As we have reiterated many times, there is no justification for the targeting of innocent civilians, and those responsible for these terrorist attacks should be held accountable. We are deeply concerned about reports that indicate the use of an advanced antitank weapon in an attack against civilians, and reiterate that all countries have obligations under relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions to prevent illicit trafficking in arms and ammunition."
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
militants in the Gaza Strip
Gaza Strip
thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...
fired a Kornet laser-guided anti-tank missile over the border at an Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i school bus
School bus
A school bus is a type of bus designed and manufactured for student transport: carrying children and teenagers to and from school and school events...
. Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
militants claimed responsibility. The group had largely held its fire since the last major Israeli offensive in Gaza, but said the attack was in retaliation for the killing of some of its leaders the previous week.
Hamas said the bus was traveling a road often used by Israeli military vehicles and it was not known at the time of the attack that it carried schoolchildren. Israel said the bus' yellow color made it easily identifiable to whoever had fired the missile and accused the group of "crossing a line."
The missile hit the bus after all but one of the children had been dropped off at the kibbutz
Kibbutz
A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...
where they lived, and the bus had traveled just 50 metres beyond its that last stop there. The only remaining passenger, a 16-year-old boy named Daniel Viflic, was critically injured with shrapnel wounds to the head and died from his injuries on 17 April. The driver was lightly injured.
Fears that the attack would lead to a second Gaza War did not materialize, but the incident was followed by a several-day stretch of violence in which Palestinians launched over 100 projectiles at Israel in which no Israelis were killed, and at least 20 Israeli strikes from its army, navy, and air force that left 19 dead and at least 45 wounded in Gaza by the time hostilities had ceased.
Reports varied widely as to how many of the Gazans killed were civilians versus militants: Haaretz
Haaretz
Haaretz is Israel's oldest daily newspaper. It was founded in 1918 and is now published in both Hebrew and English in Berliner format. The English edition is published and sold together with the International Herald Tribune. Both Hebrew and English editions can be read on the Internet...
said just two were civilians, AFP
Agence France-Presse
Agence France-Presse is a French news agency, the oldest one in the world, and one of the three largest with Associated Press and Reuters. It is also the largest French news agency. Currently, its CEO is Emmanuel Hoog and its news director Philippe Massonnet...
reported while the violence was still ongoing that seven civilians were killed, and the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
just said that "many" were. The dead in Gaza included a mother and her 21-year-old daughter, a policeman, and a 10-year-old boy. News agency Agence France-Presse
Agence France-Presse
Agence France-Presse is a French news agency, the oldest one in the world, and one of the three largest with Associated Press and Reuters. It is also the largest French news agency. Currently, its CEO is Emmanuel Hoog and its news director Philippe Massonnet...
reported that the interval following the bus attack included "the deadliest 24 hours of violence in the Strip since the end of the Gaza war" two years previously.
The attack on the school bus was condemned by the United Nations, the United States, France, and the United Kingdom, and multiple calls were issued for cessation of the mutual hostilities that followed.
Background
HamasHamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
had largely held its fire since the last major Israeli offensive in Gaza, in December, 2008, but stated that three of its leaders had been killed by Israel the previous weekend, 2–3 April 2011, and that the attack was a retaliation for those killings. In the 48 hours prior to the attack, Palestinians had also fired a separate anti-tank missile at an Israeli target. Anti-tank missiles, unlike rockets and mortars, are extremely accurate, and their use requires more skill.
The attack
On 7 April 2011 a school bus belonging to the Sha'ar HaNegev Regional CouncilSha'ar HaNegev Regional Council
The Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council , is a regional council in the north-western Negev, in Israel's Southern District. The Regional Council's territory lies midway between Beersheba and Ashkelon, bounded on the west by the Gaza Strip. The eastern border abuts Bnei Shimon...
, painted with a bright yellow color scheme to be easily recognizable as a vehicle transporting school children, was dropping off students near their homes in their villages.
The missile hit the rear of the bus after all but one of the children had been dropped off at the kibbutz
Kibbutz
A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...
of Sa'ad, and the bus had travelled just 50 metres beyond its last stop there. The sole remaining passenger, Daniel Viflic, a 16-year-old yeshiva
Yeshiva
Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...
student from Beit Shemesh, was critically injured by shrapnel which penetrated his brain. Viflic also suffered shrapnel wounds to head, neck and body, and massive blood loss. He temporarily stopped breathing, which prevented oxygen from reaching his brain. Viflic had been on the bus riding along with driver Zion Yemini, who was a family friend. The driver was lightly injured in the leg, and was able to pull the bus over to the side of the road, where he carried Viflic out of the vehicle.
Paramedics arrived quickly and began resucitating Viflic. Hamas militants launched a mortar barrage timed to coincide with the arrival of paramedics, and medics attending to Viflic had to work under heavy mortar fire. Mortar fire delayed Viflic's evacuation. Viflic was airlifted in critical condition to Soroka Medical Center
Soroka Medical Center
Soroka Medical Center is a hospital in Beersheba, Israel. It is the largest medical center in southern region of the country, and the fourth largest in Israel with approximately 1000 beds. It is owned by Clalit, the largest Health Maintenance Organization in Israel. Soroka services diverse ethnic...
in Beersheba
Beersheba
Beersheba is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the seventh-largest city in Israel with a population of 194,300....
, where he was placed in the pediatric intensive care unit. Shortly afterward, his brain stopped functioning. Following an initial brain scan, doctors concluded that Viflic had sustained a permanent brain injury. Doctors tried every treatment for cases of severe head trauma such as medication, special respiratory therapy, and attempts to lower his body temperature. Viflic remained in a coma on life support, showing no evidence of any brain activity. His condition was upgraded to extremely critical on 12 April. Viflic died on 17 April, ten days after the attack, as a result of a severe brain injury.
The military wing of Hamas claimed responsibility. The group had largely held its fire since the last major Israeli offensive in Gaza, but said the attack was in retaliation for the killing of some of its leaders the previous week.
Because the Russian-made Kornet is an accurate, laser-guided weapon, it appeared that the bus was intentionally targeted. Hamas said the bus was travelling a road often used by Israeli military vehicles and it was not known at the time of the attack that it carried schoolchildren. Israel said the bus' yellow color made it easily identifiable to whoever had fired the rocket, and accused the group of "crossing a line."
The attackers were never apprehended.
Counterattack and escalation
Fearing harsh Israeli retaliation, Palestinian militant organizations in the Gaza Strip declared a cease-fire as of 11 pm, which was ignored by Israel. The Israeli Air ForceIsraeli Air Force
The Israeli Air Force is the air force of the State of Israel and the aerial arm of the Israel Defense Forces. It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Independence...
immediately bombed two smuggling tunnels in the northern Gaza Strip, injuring four people. Rocket and mortar fire from Gaza began a few hours later, and at least 45 additional Palestinian projectiles were fired into Israel over a three-hour period. No one was killed, but residents were instructed to stay inside their homes, children were ordered to stay inside schools, and police sealed roads in the area for fear of additional attacks. One mortar shell damaged a home in the Eshkol Regional Council
Eshkol Regional Council
The Eshcol Regional Council is a regional council in the north-western Negev, in Israel's Southern District. The regional council's territory lies midway between Ashkelon and Beersheba, bounded on the west by the Gaza Strip while the eastern border abuts the territory of the Bnei Shimon Regional...
, but caused no injuries. A Grad rocket fired at Ashkelon
Ashkelon
Ashkelon is a coastal city in the South District of Israel on the Mediterranean coast, south of Tel Aviv, and north of the border with the Gaza Strip. The ancient seaport of Ashkelon dates back to the Neolithic Age...
was intercepted by an Iron Dome
Iron Dome
Iron Dome is a mobile air defense system in development by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems designed to intercept short-range rockets and artillery shells. The system was created as a defensive countermeasure to the rocket threat against Israel's civilian population on its northern and southern...
battery, marking the first successful interception of a short-range rocket in history. Immediately afterward, an Israeli aircraft fired at the militant squad that had launched the rocket, and confirmed a hit.
The Israeli Air Force
Israeli Air Force
The Israeli Air Force is the air force of the State of Israel and the aerial arm of the Israel Defense Forces. It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Independence...
and Israeli Navy launched missile attacks on targets in Gaza, while the Israeli Army
GOC Army Headquarters
The Israeli GOC Army headquarters , known unofficially as Mazi, is a multi-corps command headquarters created in 1998, which amalgamates the ground forces of the Israel Defense Forces...
attacked Gazan targets with artillery and tank fire. News agency Agence France-Presse
Agence France-Presse
Agence France-Presse is a French news agency, the oldest one in the world, and one of the three largest with Associated Press and Reuters. It is also the largest French news agency. Currently, its CEO is Emmanuel Hoog and its news director Philippe Massonnet...
reported that the effect of Israel's actions included "the deadliest 24 hours of violence" in Gaza since the Gaza War had ended, two years previously. Israeli forces had conducted more than 20 strikes by the following day. Palestinian militants fired 6 rockets and 24 mortar shells at Israel. An Iron Dome
Iron Dome
Iron Dome is a mobile air defense system in development by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems designed to intercept short-range rockets and artillery shells. The system was created as a defensive countermeasure to the rocket threat against Israel's civilian population on its northern and southern...
battery intercepted three rockets fired at Ashkelon
Ashkelon
Ashkelon is a coastal city in the South District of Israel on the Mediterranean coast, south of Tel Aviv, and north of the border with the Gaza Strip. The ancient seaport of Ashkelon dates back to the Neolithic Age...
; a fourth landed in an open field near the city. An Israeli aircraft fired at the Hamas cell that had launched the rockets and scored a direct hit. Israeli aircraft bombed two Palestinian militant cells east of Khan Yunis
Khan Yunis
Khan Yunis - often spelt Khan Younis or Khan Yunnis - is a city and adjacent refugee camp in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics the city, its refugee camp, and its immediate surroundings had a total population of 180,000 in 2006...
as they fired mortars at Israel. Palestinian casualties stood at 14 dead and 45 wounded. At least five were Hamas militants, and one was a policeman. Among the civilians reported killed in Gaza were a mother and her 21-year-old daughter. The Israeli military admitted that civilians had been apparently harmed in its attacks, saying that "Hamas chooses to operate from within civilian populations and uses them as human shields". . Palestinian rocket fire had seriously damaged chicken coops and a factory, and damaged a residential structure in a kibbutz
Kibbutz
A kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...
in the Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council
Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council
The Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council , is a regional council in the north-western Negev, in Israel's Southern District. The Regional Council's territory lies midway between Beersheba and Ashkelon, bounded on the west by the Gaza Strip. The eastern border abuts Bnei Shimon...
.
Concerns that this escalation might develop into a Second Gaza War did not materialize.
Diplomatic reactions
Domestic Israeli President Shimon PeresShimon Peres
GCMG is the ninth President of the State of Israel. Peres served twice as the eighth Prime Minister of Israel and once as Interim Prime Minister, and has been a member of 12 cabinets in a political career spanning over 66 years...
said to United Nations Security Council
United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of...
ambassadors: "I was just informed that an Israeli bus carrying students from school was hit by a missile fired from Gaza. This is another example of how Gaza has turned into a terror state. Can the United Nations guarantee that terrorist acts will not happen? None of you would give up on the security of your country, and Israel will also defend itself. Hundreds of thousands of mothers and children in southern Israel cannot sleep peacefully at night as a result of the rocket fire from Gaza."
- Eshkol Regional CouncilEshkol Regional CouncilThe Eshcol Regional Council is a regional council in the north-western Negev, in Israel's Southern District. The regional council's territory lies midway between Ashkelon and Beersheba, bounded on the west by the Gaza Strip while the eastern border abuts the territory of the Bnei Shimon Regional...
official Haim Yellin said: "As soon as they fire on a children's bus we say loudly: our children are not cannon fodder and they are not the hostages of any terrorist or terror organisation."
Supranational United Nations Secretary-General
United Nations Secretary-General
The Secretary-General of the United Nations is the head of the Secretariat of the United Nations, one of the principal organs of the United Nations. The Secretary-General also acts as the de facto spokesperson and leader of the United Nations....
Ban Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon is the eighth and current Secretary-General of the United Nations, after succeeding Kofi Annan in 2007. Before going on to be Secretary-General, Ban was a career diplomat in South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the United Nations. He entered diplomatic service the year he...
condemned the attack and urged Israel to act with "maximum restraint."
- European Union official Catherine Ashton called for a total cessation of violence between Gaza and Israel after the IDF carried out retaliatory strikes for the school bus attack, saying she was "deeply concerned by the current escalation of violence."
International The French Foreign Ministry released a statement saying: "France strongly condemns the missile, rocket and mortar attacks against civilians yesterday in southern Israel. In this regard, firing an anti-tank missile at a school bus represents a new escalation. We call for an immediate halt to this violence. France deplores the humanitarian consequences of Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip that came in response, resulting in several civilian casualties. It is urgent to end the escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip. We call on all the parties to respect a lasting truce. These events remind us, as if it were necessary, of the urgency of reaching a negotiated resolution to the conflict.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague
William Hague
William Jefferson Hague is the British Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State. He served as Leader of the Conservative Party from June 1997 to September 2001...
said: "I unreservedly condemn today’s attack from Gaza on a bus carrying school children in southern Israel. The initial reports we have received suggest the bus was deliberately targeted and that a 16-year-old boy has been critically injured. This is a despicable and cowardly act that stands in stark contrast to people’s desire for peaceful reform across the region. Violence will never deliver peace. I reiterate that Hamas must halt these strikes immediately, and rein in other militant factions in Gaza. This attack further highlights Israel’s legitimate security concerns. As I have made clear, Israel has every right to protect its people.".
- After the death of Viflic, Foreign Secretary Hague expressed his condolences to the family: "Daniel was just 16. The tragedy of his death is brought home all the more in that it occurs on the eve of PassoverPassoverPassover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...
, normally a time of celebration for Jewish families all over the world. I would like to extend my deepest sympathies to Daniel's family, and I reiterate my utter abhorrence of the cowardly attack which cost him his life, and my call for an end to all such attacks on innocent civilians."
A US State Department official said: "We condemn the attack on innocent civilians in southern Israel in the strongest possible terms, and on-going rocket fire from Gaza. As we have reiterated many times, there is no justification for the targeting of innocent civilians, and those responsible for these terrorist attacks should be held accountable. We are deeply concerned about reports that indicate the use of an advanced antitank weapon in an attack against civilians, and reiterate that all countries have obligations under relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions to prevent illicit trafficking in arms and ammunition."
See also
- List of Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel, 2011
- Palestinian political violencePalestinian political violencePalestinian political violence refers to acts of violence undertaken to further the Palestinian cause. These political objectives include self-determination in and sovereignty over Palestine, the liberation of Palestine and establishment of a Palestinian state, either in place of both Israel and...
- Violence in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Avivim school bus massacreAvivim school bus massacreThe Avivim school bus massacre was a terrorist attack on an Israeli school bus on May 8, 1970 in which 12 Israeli civilians were killed, nine of them children, and 25 were wounded. The attack took place on the road to Moshav Avivim, near Israel's border with Lebanon. Two bazooka shells were fired...
- Palestinian rocket attacks on IsraelPalestinian rocket attacks on IsraelPalestinian rocket and mortar attacks on Israel from the Gaza Strip have occurred since 2001. Between 2001 and January 2009, over 8,600 rockets had been launched, leading to 28 deaths and several hundred injuries, as well as widespread psychological trauma and disruption of daily life.The weapons,...
- Ramat Eshkol bus bombing
- Shmuel HaNavi bus bombing
External links
- Daniel Viflic, Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs