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Eight die in Tel Aviv suicide bombing

A suicide bomber blew himself up at a fast food restaurant in a bustling commercial area of Tel Aviv during the Jewish holiday of Passover yesterday, killing himself and eight people and wounding 49 in the deadliest Palestinian attack in more than a year.

The bombing appeared to set the stage for a showdown between Israel and the Palestinians' new Hamas rulers, who called the attack a legitimate response to Israeli "aggression." Israel said it held Hamas ultimately responsible, even though a different militant group, Islamic Jihad, said it carried out the bombing.

Israeli defense chiefs were to hold consultations later yesterday, but security officials said a possible military ground operation in Gaza, the base of the new Hamas government, was not being considered.

The explosion went off at about 1:40pm outside the packed "The Mayor's Felafel" restaurant in Tel Aviv's Neve Shaanan district. The restaurant had also been targeted in a January bombing.

A security guard posted outside the restaurant prevented the bomber from entering the building, police said. Witnesses said the blast went off when the guard was checking the bomber's bag.

A witness, Israel Yaakov, said the blast killed a woman standing near her husband and children, who were lightly wounded.

"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 ... it's a shocking scene," Yaakov said.

It was the first suicide bombing in Israel since Hamas took over the Palestinian government two and a half weeks ago -- and came shortly ahead of a swearing in ceremony in Jerusalem for the new Israeli parliament.

Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the bombing. The group identified the bomber as Sami Salim Mohammed Hammed, from the West Bank town of Jenin.
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