Dizengoff Center suicide bombing

1996 terrorist attack in Tel Aviv, Israel

Dizengoff Center suicide bombing
The mall after the bombing
Native name	הפיגוע בדיזנגוף סנטר
Location	Tel Aviv, Israel
Coordinates	32°04′34″N 34°46′29″E / 32.07611°N 34.77472°E / 32.07611; 34.77472
Date	March 4, 1996; 28 years ago (1996-03-04) c. 4:00 pm (GMT+2)
Target	Dizengoff Center
Attack type	Suicide bomber
Weapon	Suicide vest
Deaths	13 Israelis (12 civilians, 1 soldier) + 1 bomber
Injured	125
Perpetrator	Hamas
Participant	1

The Dizengoff Center suicide bombing (also Purim massacre) was a Palestinian suicide terrorist attack which took place on March 4, 1996, on the eve of the Jewish holiday of Purim. The suicide bomber blew himself up outside Dizengoff Center in downtown Tel Aviv, killing 13 Israelis and wounding 130 more. The terrorist attack was the fourth suicide bombing in Israel in nine days, bringing the death toll during that span to over 60.

The attack

The suicide bomber detonated just before 4 pm (GMT+2) outside the Dizengoff Center, the largest shopping mall in Tel Aviv. That day the center was particularly crowded for the eve of Purim. Many in the crowd were children dressed in costume for the holiday. The bomber sought to enter the mall but turned back because of the police presence. Instead, he went into the busy intersection where a large number of pedestrians were crossing the street and set off his 20-kilogram nail bomb. Following the attack, a phone call to an Israeli radio station apparently from a Hamas representative identified the attacker as Abdel-Rahim Ishaq, a 24-year-old resident of Ramallah.

References

^ "Suicide and Other Bombing Attacks in Israel Since the Declaration of Principles (Sept 1993)". Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Archived from the original on 3 April 2010. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
^ Serge, Schmemann (5 March 2010). "Bombing in Israel:The Overview;4th Terror Blast in Israel Kills 14 at Mall in Tel Aviv; Nine-Day Toll Grows to 61". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 29 March 2023.

External links

The Bat-Chen Diaries
Patches, a memorial film
The Dizengoff Memorial Quilt Project at the Wayback Machine (archived October 27, 2009)

v t e Prominent terrorist attacks against Israelis in the history of the Arab–Israeli conflict – the 1990s
1990	Cairo bus attack (February 4) Assassination of Meir Kahane (November 5) Ein Netafim ambush (November 26)
1992	Night of the Pitchforks (February 14) Buenos Aires Israeli embassy bombing (March 17) Murder of Helena Rapp (May 24) Abduction and killing of Nissim Toledano (December 13)
1993	Mehola Junction bombing (April 16) Abduction and killing of Yaron Chen (August 5)
1994	Afula bus bombing (April 6) Hadera bus station bombing (April 13) London embassy bombing (July 26) Abduction and killing of Nachshon Wachsman (October 14) Dizengoff Street bus bombing (October 19) Netzarim Junction bicycle bombing (November 11) Afula axe attack (November 30)
1995	Beit Lid bombing (January 22) Kfar Darom bus attack (April 9) Ramat Gan bus bombing (July 24) Jerusalem bus 26 bombing (August 21)
1996	First Jaffa Road bus bombing (February 25) ‡ Second Jaffa Road bus bombing (March 3) Dizengoff Center bombing (March 4) Murder of Yaron and Efrat Ungar (June 9)
1997	Island of Peace massacre (March 13) Café Apropo bombing (March 21) Mahane Yehuda bombings (July 30) Ben Yehuda Street bombing (September 4)
Attacks launched from the West Bank Attacks launched from the Gaza Strip Attacks launched from Lebanon Attacks launched from Jordan Attacks launched from Egypt ‡ indicates the terrorist attack which caused the greatest amount of Israeli casualties during the 1990s Full list of Palestinian suicide attacks Full list of Lebanese projectile attacks 1980s 2000s

v t e Prominent Palestinian militancy attacks in the 1990s
Within Israel	Night of the Pitchforks (February 14, 1992) Murder of Helena Rapp (May 24, 1992) Kidnapping and murder of Nissim Toledano (December 13, 1992) Afula bus suicide bombing (April 6, 1994) Hadera central station suicide bombing (April 13, 1994) Kidnapping and murder of Nachshon Wachsman (October 14, 1994) Dizengoff Street bus bombing (October 19, 1994) Afula axe attack (November 30, 1994) Beit Lid massacre (January 22, 1995) Kfar Darom bus attack (April 9, 1995) Ramat Gan bus bombing (July 24, 1995) Jerusalem bus 26 bombing (August 21, 1995) First Jerusalem bus 18 suicide bombing (February 25, 1996) Second Jerusalem bus 18 suicide bombing (March 3, 1996) Dizengoff Center suicide bombing (March 4, 1996) Murder of Yaron and Efrat Ungar (June 9, 1996) Café Apropo bombing (March 21, 1997) Mahane Yehuda Market bombings (July 30, 1997) Ben Yehuda Street Bombing (September 4, 1997)
West Bank	Mehola Junction bombing (April 16, 1993) Kidnapping and murder of Yaron Chen (August 5, 1993)
Gaza Strip	Netzarim Junction bicycle bombing (November 11, 1994)
Attacks launched from Lebanon Attacks launched from the West Bank Attacks launched from the Gaza strip 1980s 2000s

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