Father watched gunman shoot his British daughters in Tel Aviv
Father watched gunman shoot his two British daughters dead in Israel attack – as Brits ‘are among seven injured’ when car ploughs into tourists in Tel Aviv and kills Italian holidaymaker
- WARNING – GRAPHIC CONTENT
- Comes amid rising conflict between Israeli and Palestinian factions this week
A father witnessed the death of his two daughters in a shooting, following the Tel Aviv attack that has left at least seven Brits wounded.
The UK Foreign Office has called for a de-escalation in tensions between Israel and Palestine, as two British-Israeli sisters aged 15 and 20 were shot dead.
The attack on their car took place near the Israeli settlement Hamra in the West Bank, with the girls’ father in a separate car following behind, local officials said.
A vigil for was then held for the women last night, after Israeli medics pulled out them out from the wreckage, with the car appearing to have been pushed off the road.
The sisters’ 48-year-old mother was also seriously wounded when the unknown attackers opened fire with a Kalashnikov-style weapon. She was taken to hospital by helicopter.
Israeli medics and police check a damaged car at the scene of a shooting, in the Jordan Valley in the Israeli-occupied West Bank April 7, 2023
Israeli forces gather near the Hamra junction in the northern part of the Jordan valley in the occupied West Bank following a shooting attack on April 7, 2023
Last night, Israel also said that its forces were blocking roads in the area and ‘had started a pursuit of the terrorists’ responsible for the attack.
In London, the Foreign Office confirmed the deaths and appealed for all sides in the Israel-Palestine dispute to de-escalate a situation which has seen violence flare up in recent days.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: ‘We are saddened to hear about the deaths of two British-Israeli citizens and the serious injuries sustained by a third individual.
‘The UK calls for all parties across the region to de-escalate tensions.’
There was further bloodshed in Tel Aviv, as Britons were reportedly among those injured when a car rammed into a group of people near a popular seaside park.
A 36-year-old Italian man was killed in the attack, named by Italian news outlet Repubblica as 36-year-old Alessandro Parini from Rome.
Police said they shot and killed the driver of the car and identified him as a 45-year-old Palestinian citizen of Israel from the village of Kafr Qassem.
The force were said to have shot Mr Qassem as he approached the overturned car and had appeared to reach for a weapon, according to the Jerusalem Post.
The force described it as a ‘shooting attack’, although according to a police source no weapon was found in the vehicle except a toy gun.
A video circulating on social media showed the car hurtling along a sidewalk for several hundred metres before crashing out of control.
Israeli medics and policemen check a damaged car at the scene of a shooting attack, in the Jordan Valley in the Israeli-occupied West Bank April 7, 2023
One was killed and seven were injured in the attack which took place this evening in Israel
The family of the two sisters killed in the West Bank were residents of the Efrat settlement, near the Palestinian city of Bethlehem, according to Oded Revivi, the settlement’s mayor.
READ MORE: British tourists among victims’ of Tel Aviv ‘terror attack’ after car rams into crowd of people – as video shows the moment Israeli police shoot suspect
He said: ‘With great sorrow we received an update on a shocking terrorist attack in which terrorists shot a car including a mother and her two daughters, residents of Efrat.
‘The two girls were murdered and the mother is in (a) critical condition and we all pray for her quick recovery.
‘The father of the family who drove in another car from the front turned around and witnessed the efforts to take care of his wife and daughters.’
Shadow foreign secretary David Lammy said: ‘I am shocked by reports of the killing of two British sisters in an appalling and cowardly attack in the West Bank.
‘My thoughts are with their family and loved ones. More civilian victims of this cycle of violence show the urgent need for diplomatic efforts to de-escalate.’
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly had earlier called for calm after Israel launched strikes in southern Lebanon and bombed targets in the Gaza Strip in retaliation over rocket attacks.
The cross-border fighting, while Jews are celebrating the Passover holiday and Muslims are marking Ramadan, erupted following violent scenes at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon came after militants fired nearly three dozen rockets from there.
The Israeli military said it targeted installations of the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Lebanon.
Israeli officials work at the scene of an attack in Tel Aviv after a shooting in the West Bank
A person wounded in the attack is brought to a hospital by medics in Tel Aviv earlier today
READ MORE: Two British sisters – one aged 15 and another in her 20s – are killed and their mother, 48, is seriously wounded in West Bank shooting
Mr Cleverly said both sides in the Israel-Palestine dispute should ‘recommit themselves to a negotiated settlement’.
He said: ‘The UK condemns the indiscriminate rocket attacks from southern Lebanon and Gaza and recognises Israel’s right to self-defence.
‘Now is the time for all parties across the region to de-escalate tensions.
‘At the convergence of Passover, Ramadan and Easter, the UK calls for all parties to respect the historic status quo arrangements at Jerusalem’s holy sites and cease all provocative action.
‘The UK is a strong supporter of freedom of religion or belief and calls for places of worship to be respected.
‘We value Jordan’s important role as custodian of the holy sites in Jerusalem and condemns the Israeli police violence at the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
‘When Israeli security forces conduct operations, they must ensure they are proportionate and in accordance with international law.’
In Jerusalem, violence flared again at the Al-Aqsa Mosque before dawn prayers, with Israeli police stationed at one of the gates forcibly dispersing vast crowds of worshippers who chanted praise for Hamas.
Israeli police and emergency service stand around a car involved in an attack in Tel Aviv today
Human rights campaign group Amnesty International UK criticised Mr Cleverly’s response.
The charity’s Kristyan Benedict said: ‘James Cleverly’s belated response to shocking Israeli violence against Palestinians at Al-Aqsa Mosque isn’t just weak and tokenistic – it’s also dangerously misguided because it effectively isolates individual incidents of violence from the overall context, which is decades of apartheid, occupation and systematic injustice against the Palestinian people.
‘Despite the Foreign Secretary’s usual platitudes about ‘peace’ and ‘de-escalation’, the UK continues to oppose vital international measures such as the ongoing ICC (International Criminal Court) investigation, designed to bring justice and accountability for Israeli and Palestinian civilians.’
At present, it is not clear if the attack was targeted at particular groups.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry referred to it as a ‘terror attack’, identifying the attacker as 44-year-old Yousef Abu Jaber from Kafr Qassem. Israeli police said a car rammed into a group of people near a popular seaside park before flipping over.
The attack came against the backdrop of heightened tensions after Israeli air strikes on Palestinian militant targets in both Lebanon and Gaza, as well as a shooting in the occupied West Bank today that killed two British-Israeli sisters.
In response to the rising violence, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mobilised police and army reserves late on Friday.
The Magen David Adom emergency service said the casualty was a man around the age of 30, and reports have said he was a foreign tourist visiting Israel.
A 36-year-old Italian man was killed in the attack, named by Italian news outlet Repubblica as 36-year-old Alessandro Parini
‘All the victims were tourists,’ the Magen David Adom emergency service said, without providing details on their nationalities.
Italian news outlet Repubblica named the Italian victim as 36-year-old Alessandro Parini from Rome.
Walla, an Israeli internet company based in Tel Aviv, said a 74-year-old man, a 39-year-old man, a 17-year-old girl in ‘moderate’ condition, a man in his 50s and a 70-year-old woman were taken to the Wolfson Hospital in Holon and Ichilov.
A 31-year-old man and a 27-year-old woman, both tourists, were later taken to hospital with slight injuries.
The attacker was seen to drive south near the Charles Clore promenade, hitting tourists on the pavement.
The vehicle lost control, flipped, and the attacker was shot dead by officials.
The attack follows a spate of violence between Palestinian and Israeli factions leading on from a police raid of the Al-Aqsa mosque in East Jerusalem on Wednesday morning.
After rockets landed in Israel from Lebanon on Thursday, which Israel blamed on pro-Palestinian forces, Prime Minister Netanyahu gave the green light for bombing of targets in Lebanon and Gaza overnight.
The attacker was seen to drive south near the Charles Clore promenade, hitting tourists on the pavement
Nobody has yet claimed responsibility for the barrage of rockets.
Iran’s foreign ministry today condemned the Israeli strikes that followed.
Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said the ministry ‘strongly condemned the attacks… as a violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and a gross violation of international law and human rights of the oppressed Palestinian nation, and called for an effective response by… world bodies.’
In the wake of violent scenes late on Thursday, two British-Israeli nationals were shot dead in an attack on their car near Hamra, 30 miles north of Jerusalem, today.
Again, nobody took responsibility for the attack but Palestinian group Hamas, the de facto governing authority of the Gaza Strip, said it was a ‘natural response to [Israel’s] ongoing crimes against the al-Aqsa mosque and its barbaric aggression against Lebanon and the steadfast Gaza.’
A Foreign Office spokesperson told MailOnline: ‘We are saddened to hear about the deaths of two British-Israeli citizens and the serious injuries sustained by a third individual.
‘The UK calls for all parties across the region to de-escalate tensions.’
Hamas did not take responsibility for the car ramming into crowds in Tel Aviv either, but praised the attack as a response to Israel’s ‘crimes against Al-Aqsa Mosque and worshippers’.
Walla, an Israeli internet company based in Tel Aviv, said a 74-year-old man, a 39-year-old man, a 17-year-old girl in ‘moderate’ condition
Protestors gathered today as violence escalates between Palestinian and Israeli factions
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators gather near the Israeli embassy in Kensington, London, today
READ MORE: We will strike our enemies and they will pay’: Israel pounds Gaza and Lebanon after Netanyahu vowed ‘aggressive response’ to rocket attacks by Palestinian militants
Fact-box text
Violence has spiralled since Israeli police stormed the Al Aqsa mosque in East Jerusalem with tear gas and stun grenades to confront Palestinians barricaded inside with fireworks and stones.
Muslim worshippers have been demanding the right to pray overnight inside the mosque, which authorities typically only permit during the last 10 days of the month-long Ramadan holiday.
They also stayed in the mosque in protest threats by religious Jews to carry out a ritual animal slaughter at the sacred site for Passover.
At least 14 Palestinians were injured and hundreds arrested on Tuesday night into Wednesday morning as Israeli police raided the mosque, sparking global condemnation.
Video footage dated 5 April showed police beating protestors with rifles. Other footage showed Palestinians inside the mosque shooting fireworks back at the security forces.
Yesterday, pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered in Kensington, London, where the Israeli embassy is located, to protest perceived Israeli aggression.
MailOnline approached the Foreign Office for comment.
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