The Criminal Attack in Ramla: The Shamir Asaf HaRofe Hospital updated this evening (Thursday) on the death of 4 injured individuals from the car explosion in Ramla. The doctors are struggling to save the life of a two-month-old infant. The four deceased include a woman and her 2 young children and a close young relative.
In addition to the infant, 6 more injured individuals are hospitalized in mild to moderate condition. Notifications have been sent to all families. At 21:00, the hospital provided the following update: "As of now, 3 individuals are hospitalized from the Ramla incident: a two-month-old infant in critical condition, a 6-year-old girl in mild condition, and a 28-year-old man in mild condition. Three injured individuals have been discharged home after receiving medical treatment."
The Afternoon Explosion: A car exploded on Herzl Street in Ramla. Evening news on Kan 11 reported that the suspicion is that the explosion is related to the bloody conflict between local families, Jarushi and Abu Zaid. The vehicle and the store belong to members of the Jarushi family.
An eyewitness who works near the scene said that the explosion occurred at 16:42 and did not cause injuries. According to him, the fire began to spread to nearby stores eight minutes later. He claimed that the police arrived only at 17:05. Initial details suggest that many of the victims fled into the store after the explosion to seek shelter, but the place caught fire and became a "fire trap." Additional large teams from MDA, who arrived at the scene, joined the firefighting forces, treated the injured, and transported them to Kaplan and Asaf HaRofe hospitals, where a "limited mass casualty event" was declared. Outside Asaf HaRofe Hospital, a brawl broke out between civilians and Border Police officers. Relatives of the injured attacked media crews, including the Kan News team. Three Ramla residents were arrested at the scene. The police stated that they were arrested "on suspicion of disturbing the peace and assaulting officers at the scene, and their continued detention will be decided based on the investigation needs."
Investigation and Response: After evaluating the situation, Central District Commander, Chief Superintendent Avi Biton, assigned the investigation of the event to the Central Investigation Unit of the Central District.
The police stated: "During an assessment of the situation led by Central District Commander – Chief Superintendent Avi Biton at the scene, investigative and intelligence officials reviewed the circumstances and background, which is suspected to be a criminal conflict between crime families in the Arab street. Therefore, it was decided that the investigation would be conducted by the Central Investigation Unit, with enhanced enforcement against suspects involved in the Juarish neighborhood."
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir arrived at the scene with Police Commissioner Dany Levy, who stated that this is a "serious criminal incident in which innocent civilians were harmed as a result of criminality and violence from offenders. We will hold accountable anyone responsible for this wrongdoing against innocent civilians. We have promised and will deliver – we will not relent on any criminal, anyone who tries to harm innocent civilians; we will pursue them."
Ben-Gvir's Criticism: Minister Ben-Gvir stated at the scene that he has been warning for months about issuing administrative orders against criminals in crime organizations: "We could have entered tonight and arrested all the crime families and criminals, and we have submitted lists to the legal advisor. Administrative detentions are the solution."
He added, "This is a serious and grave event, the result of decades of neglect of crime in the Arab sector. We are allocating resources and continuously working and reforming the police. I will say one thing, without the legal advisor addressing the issue, there will be no solution."