The victim was identified as Alessandro Parini by Italy’s foreign minister, prompting Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to express her “deep sorrow” and describe the attack as “cowardly.”
According to police, a 45-year-old man drove a Kia along the beachside boardwalk, striking several pedestrians before flipping over on the lawn of the Charles Clore Garden. When a police officer at a nearby petrol station heard the commotion, he rushed to the scene and saw the driver “trying to reach for what appeared to be a rifle-like object that was with him,” and then “neutralized him” by shooting him.
Except for the alleged perpetrator, all of the victims were tourists. Three received moderate injuries, while four received only minor injuries. An overturned car near a promenade was seen on video, as well as an Israeli police officer opening fire.
The attack comes just hours after two British-Israeli sisters were killed and their mother was injured in an occupied West Bank shooting. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mobilised police and army reservists to combat terrorism, and he also visited the shooting site in the West Bank.
Tensions have been high in the region, with two nights of Israeli police raids at Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa mosque resulting in violent clashes with Palestinians inside and sparking outrage throughout the region. In addition, in response to a barrage of 34 rockets fired from Lebanon into northern Israel on Thursday, the Israeli military carried out air strikes on Hamas targets in southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.
Although Hamas has not claimed responsibility for the rockets, its leader, Ismail Haniyeh, has stated that Palestinians will not “sit with their arms crossed” in the face of Israeli aggression. The rocket barrage launched from Lebanon was the largest in 17 years.
