A 50-year-old man was killed in a truck explosion on Lehi Street in southern Tel Aviv on Sunday. On Monday, the district police indicated that the incident was likely a terrorist attack, News.Az reports, citing Israeli media.

“The emergency dispatch center received dozens of calls reporting a loud explosion and body parts scattered on Lehi Street,” said Perez Amer, district commander of the Central District, around 8 p.m. He added that when police arrived at the scene, “they noticed a mutilated body and traces of an explosion on the wall.”

The police initially stated that they had “difficulty identifying the body,” but then said that the person killed was “not an innocent civilian, but the person who was carrying the explosive device. It is not yet possible to say whether this is a criminal or terrorist incident,” Amer stressed.

#Terrorist Attack reported in #TelAviv

A #TRUCK exploded. The #Driver died.

According to some reports, the explosion was carried out by a suicide bomber. pic.twitter.com/vb9eB9XQWI

— News.Az (@news_az) 19 August 2024

Magen David Adom (MDA) medics said they found an unconscious body with numerous systemic injuries and later pronounced him dead.

In addition, a 33-year-old man was moderately injured. MDA paramedics provided him with medical treatment and took him to Sourasky Medical Center with shrapnel injuries to his limbs and chest.

Large police forces and the Shin Bet (Israeli domestic intelligence agency) were also on the scene. The circumstances of the incident are currently under investigation as all possibilities are being considered, including a criminal incident or a terrorist attack.

On Monday morning, Haim Bobalil, police commander of Tel Aviv’s Ayalon district, said that police had assessed the attack as a terrorist threat. “It was a miracle that it didn’t explode in the nearest synagogue or shopping center. There could have been dozens of deaths.”

News.Az