TEL AVIV – Israeli emergency services are treating dozens of victims after a truck rammed into a bus while it was dropping off passengers at a bus stop near the Glilot military base north of Tel Aviv on Sunday morning.
An Israeli police spokesman said a preliminary investigation showed the truck struck both passengers and the bus.
Citizens at the scene “shot at the truck driver and neutralized him,” Israeli police said.
The circumstances of the crash remain under investigation and Israeli police have not indicated whether they are treating the incident as a suspected terror attack or a traffic accident.
However, Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was a “natural reaction” to Israel’s actions in “Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem.”
Ronit Glazer, of Magen David Adom, Israel’s emergency medical services, described a chaotic scene in a video on
MDA EMTs and paramedics treat and evacuate 10 injured people to Beilinson and Ichilov hospitals. Among the injured: 4 in serious condition, 2 in moderate condition and 4 in mild condition. MDA teams are also treating several other victims at the scene. Updates to follow. pic.twitter.com/nGGv5Q3AcN
— Magen David Adom (@Mdais) October 27, 2024
She said MDA has sent “health care units, ambulances, motorcycles, first responders, paramedics and EMTs” to the scene.
MDA EMTs and paramedics provide medical treatment and evacuate to nearby hospitals. It said a total of 35 people were injured, including 6 with severe conditions, 5 with moderate conditions and 20 with mild conditions. Four suffer from anxiety.
United Hatzalah, a volunteer emergency service, said “a large number of pedestrians” were involved and people were trapped under the truck for 30 minutes after the incident.
In a separate incident later on Sunday, the Israeli Defense Forces said that “a terrorist accelerated his vehicle towards IDF soldiers conducting a counter-terrorism activity” in the village of Hizma, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
It said the person pulled a knife from his vehicle and “attempted to carry out a stabbing attack” but was killed by the soldiers.
It said no IDF injuries were reported.
This is a developing story. Check back regularly for updates. Yarden Segev reported from Tel Aviv and Freddie Clayton from London.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
