One killed, dozens injured in suspected ramming attack near Glilot as truck slams into bus stop

Dozens of people were injured, some critically, when a truck hit a bus stop near Glilot Junction in Tel Aviv on Sunday morning. 

Several people were trapped under the truck until rescue personnel were able to lift the truck and remove the injured people. 

Many of those injured were retirees who were visiting the area.

Magen David Adom (MDA) emergency medic Elior Yosef told N12 News, "We arrived at the scene and saw a scene where a truck collided with people at a bus stop, several people were lying under the truck, and several other people were injured and were next to it.” 

“We started giving them immediate medical treatment and evacuated them to hospitals. This is a very serious incident, but we acted quickly to provide the wounded with optimal medical care.” 

MDA said 10 people were taken to nearby hospitals for treatment. Beilinson Hospital later reported that three of them were in serious condition, one in moderate condition, five were in light condition and one person was treated for shock and panic. 

Later in the day, Sourasky Medical Center, where some of the injured were taken, said one of the people wounded in the attack had died from their injuries.

Shuki Green, an eyewitness, told Israel Hayom, “We got off the bus and we are a group of retirees from Mizrahi Bank. Some had already gotten off and some hadn't. I was off. Then a truck came and drove between the fence and the bus. Luckily the bus prevented the truck a bit. There were screams and a cloud of dust. The truck driver had a knife in his hand and was trying to get out of a truck and was shot.” 

Assaf Hoja, a business owner near the scene, confirmed the testimony that the driver had a knife.  

“I saw the truck speeding towards the hitchhiking station and impacting on the back side of the bus. I went to the front of the bus and saw a pile of people squashed under the truck,” Hoja told Israel Hayom.

“I immediately called the police. As soon as the officers tried to reach the driver, he tried to attack them, injuring one of them in the hand. They fired three shots at him and neutralized him” 

The Israel Police have not released any official findings, however, according to preliminary reports, they are investigating the incident as a terror attack. 

The truck driver, Rami Natur Nasrallah, was shot and killed at the scene. Nasrallah was an Israeli citizen from the town of Qalansawe, near Tayibe and east of Netanya. 

Several family members of Nasrallah released a statement denying the incident was a terror attack. 

They claim the report of the incident being a terror attack was “a lie” and said, “Rami suffers from heart disease, he lost control [of the vehicle] due to medical problems.” 

Hebrew news correspondent Avishai Greenzaig said Nasrallah had a previous criminal history, having stolen a truck from a worksite about four years ago. He claimed the truck had been stolen from him.

Nasrallah served 9 months of community service for the theft.