The European Union condemned the bombing unequivocally, and Russia called on
the Palestinian Authority to stop future attacks. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi
Annan told the Palestinian government "to take a clear public stand" against
such acts. And the United States warned of grave consequences for the Hamas-led
government.
"Defense or sponsorship of terrorist acts by officials of the Palestinian
Cabinet will have the gravest effects on relations between the Palestinian
Authority and all states seeking peace in the Middle East," White House press
secretary Scott McClellan said.
The bombing was the first inside Israel since the Hamas Cabinet took office 2
1/2 weeks ago. Militants from Islamic Jihad celebrated by handing out pastries
on the streets of Gaza.
The attack came amid a sharp increase in fighting between Israel and the
Palestinians across the Gaza border. Militants have fired barrages of homemade
rockets at Israel, and Israel has responded with artillery fire. A 17-year-old
Palestinian in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya was killed Monday in the
shelling, Palestinian officials said.
The suicide bombing took place about 1:40 p.m. when the attacker, carrying a
bag stuffed with 10 pounds of explosives, approached the "The Mayor's Falafel"
in a busy neighborhood near Tel Aviv's central bus station. The restaurant,
which had been the target of a January bombing, was packed with Israelis on
vacation during the weeklong Passover holiday.
A guard outside was checking the bomber's bag when the device exploded,
police and witnesses said.
"Suddenly there was a boom. The whole restaurant flew in the air," said Azi
Otmazgo, 35, who was wounded on his hands, foot and head.
The bomb, laced with nails and other projectiles, shattered car windshields,
smashed windows of nearby buildings and blew away the restaurant's sign. Glass
shards and blood splattered the ground. Police said the guard was torn in half
by the blast.
The explosion killed a woman standing near her husband and children, who were
slightly wounded, said Israel Yaakov, another witness.
"The father was traumatized, he went into shock. He ran to the children to
gather them up, and the children were screaming, 'Mom! Mom!' and she wasn't
answering, she was dead already," he said.
The wounded were treated on sidewalks. One man was lying on his side, his
shirt pushed up and his back covered by bandages. A bleeding woman was wheeled
away on a stretcher.
"Everything was a mess. Everything was blood. I saw half a body — I don't
know if it was the terrorist or the guard," said a witness who gave his name as
Bentzi.
Police said nine civilians and the bomber were killed and dozens of others
were wounded.
The attack was the deadliest since a double suicide bombing on two buses in
the southern city of Beersheba killed 16 people on Aug. 31, 2004. It was the
second major Passover bombing in four years. An 2002 attack at a hotel in the
coastal town of Netanya killed 29 people and triggered a major Israeli military
offensive.
Hamas, responsible for dozens of suicide bombings in recent years, has
largely observed a 16-month truce with Israel. But Hamas leaders defended
Monday's bombing.
"We think that this operation ... is a direct result of the policy of the
occupation and the brutal aggression and siege committed against our people,"
said Khaled Abu Helal, spokesman for the Hamas-led Interior Ministry.