Tel Aviv - An American tourist was killed and at least 10 others wounded in a terror stabbing in central Jaffa, in the third attack within a number of hours on Tuesday evening.
According to Wolfson Medical Center in Holon, the 29-year-old victim evacuated to the hospital succumbed to his wounds, which were sustained in the attack.
Tel Aviv police said the attacker began stabbing people near the entrance to the Jaffa Port, wounding a number people to varying degrees.
He then escaped on foot in the direction of Tel Aviv, running between vehicles stopped on the road and stabbing motorists. He managed to wound a number of other civilians before he was shot and subdued by police.
Police have ruled out the possibility that the attack was carried out by more than one individual, after carrying out searches in the area. The attacker was reportedly identified as a 22-year-old from the Palestinian village of Kalandiya.
According to Magen David Adom, among the wounded, four were in serious condition, another four were in moderate condition and two others suffered light wounds. According to Channel 2, one of the victims in serious condition was a pregnant woman.
IIsraeli Channel 2 TV interviewed a man identified only by his first name, Yishai, who described how he confronted the Palestinian attacker.
“I was sitting down playing guitar and I heard screaming from across the street,” said the man, who wore a T-shirt of the rock band Tool. “I saw a man run at me with a knife, I ran at him with the guitar and smashed it in his head. He was so stunned and didn’t know what to do with himself and then started running away.”
The incident occurred around the time that US Vice President Joe Biden arrived to the Peres Center for Peace, no more than a mile from the scene of the attack.
A source from Biden’s team said the US vice president’s delegation was aware of the incident and had not altered its schedule. The source said that vice president met with former Israeli President Shimon Peres as planned, adding that Biden was in a secure location and therefore did not need to change course.
Hours earlier, three Israelis were wounded in two separate terror attacks that occurred within minutes of each other in Jerusalem and the Tel Aviv suburb of Petah Tikva.
An ultra-Orthodox Jewish burial society cleaning up blood and medical bandages at the scene a stabbing attack on a sea side walking area in old Jaffa, just south of Tel Aviv, Israel, 08 March 2016, after a Palestinian attacker went on a stabbing spree and wounded 10 people before he was shot and killed. One of the wounded died soon after the attack. The attack occurred at about the time United States Vice President Joe Biden arrived in Jaffa to meet Israeli statesman Shimon Peres in the Peres Center for Peace. (Credit: EPA)
A wounded man is evacuated from the scene of a stabbing attack in Jaffa, a mixed Jewish-Arab part of Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, March 8, 2016. (Credit: AP)
A bouquet stained with blood is seen where, according to Israeli police spokesperson, at least 10 Israelis were stabbed, in the popular Jaffa port area of Tel Aviv, Israel March 8, 2016. (Credit: REUTERS)
Israeli police search the spot where, according to Israeli police spokesperson, at least 10 Israelis were stabbed, in the popular Jaffa port area of Tel Aviv, Israel March 8, 2016. (Credit: REUTERS)
Israeli security forces search the area where, according to Israeli police spokesperson, at least 10 Israelis were stabbed, in the popular Jaffa port area of Tel Aviv, Israel March 8, 2016. (Credit: REUTERS)
Israeli security and medics at the scene of a stabbing attack where one person was murdered and nine others were wounded in Jaffa Port, Tel Aviv on March 8, 2016. (Credit: Flash90)
Israeli security and medics at the scene of a stabbing attack where one person was murdered and nine others were wounded in Jaffa Port, Tel Aviv on March 8, 2016. (Credit: Flash90)
