Megiddo Junction bus bombing

Megiddo Junction bus bombing
Part of the Second Intifada militancy campaign
The attack site
Location	Israel
Coordinates	32°34′22″N 35°11′31″E
Date	June 5, 2002 7:15 am (GMT+2)
Attack type	suicide bombing
Deaths	13 Israeli soldiers and four civilians (+ 1 bomber)
Injured	43 Israelis (mostly soldiers)
Perpetrators	Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility

The memorial built near the site of the attack in memory of the victims of the incident

The Megiddo Junction bus bombing was the suicide bombing of an Egged bus at Megiddo Junction in northern Israel on June 5, 2002. 17 people were killed and 43 wounded, the majority of them IDF soldiers.

The Palestinian Islamist militant organization Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.

The attack

On Wednesday, 5 June 2002, a Palestinian suicide bomber drove a Renault van loaded with dozens of kilograms of explosives to Highway 65. At Megiddo Junction, he approached Egged bus no. 830, filled with passengers, traveling from Tel Aviv to Tiberias. At 7:15 am, the bomber detonated the explosive device near the fuel tank of the bus, causing it to burst into flames. According to a member of the rescue crew, people were thrown out of the bus by the force of the bomb and rescuers could not board the vehicle immediately due to the extreme heat.

The blast killed 13 Israeli soldiers and four civilians. 43 passengers were injured, most of them soldiers.

Fatalities

Cpl. Liron Avitan, 19, of Hadera Cpl. Avraham Barzilai, 19, of Netanya Cpl. Dennis Blumin, 20, of Hadera St.-Sgt. Eliran Buskila, 21, of Hadera St.-Sgt. Zvi Gelberd, 20, of Hadera Sgt. Violetta Hizgayev, 20, of Hadera St.-Sgt. Ganadi Issakov, 21, of Hadera Sgt. Sariel Katz, 21, of Netanya Cpl. Vladimir Morari, 19, of Hadera

Sgt. Yigal Nedipur, 22, of Netanya Sgt. Dotan Reisel, 22, of Hadera St.-Sgt. David Stanislavksy, 23, of Netanya Sgt. Sivan Wiener, 19, of Holon Zion Agmon, 50, of Hadera Adi Dahan, 17, of Afula Shimon Timsit, 35, of Tel-Aviv Eliyahu Timsit, 32, of Sderot – identified in December 2002

Perpetrators and retaliation

After the attack the Palestinian Islamist militant organization Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack and stated that the attack was carried out by an 18-year-old Palestinian named Hamza Samudi who originated from Jenin and had taken driving lessons four days before the attack, especially for this mission. In response, Israeli forces put Yasser Arafat under siege in his Ramallah compound once again.

External links

• Suicide bombing at Megiddo junction - 5-Jun-2002 - published at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Israel bus attack kills 17 - BBC News, June 5, 2002
• Bomb Kills 17 Israeli Bus Passengers - Fox News, June 5, 2002
• Israel enters Jenin after suicide blast - BBC News June 5, 2002
• The Armageddon bomb - The Economist June 5, 2002