WernerStoate3 at 10:04, 14 December 2025

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{{Short description|1996 terrorist attack in Tel Aviv, Israel}}
{{pp-extended|small=yes}}
{{Infobox terrorist attack
| title = Dizengoff Center suicide bombing
| image = Dizengoff Center suicide bombing, 1996 I Dan Hadani Archive.jpg
| caption = The mall after the bombing
| location = [[Tel Aviv]], [[Israel]]
| target = [[Dizengoff Center]]
| date = {{start date and age|1996|03|04}}
| native_name = הפיגוע בדיזנגוף סנטר
| native_name_lang = he
| coordinates = {{Coord|32|04|34|N|34|46|29|E|type:event_region:IL|display=inline,title}}
| time = {{Circa}} 4:00 pm
| time-begin =
| time-end =
| timezone = [[Greenwich Mean Time|GMT]]+2
| type = [[Suicide bomber]]
| weapon = [[Suicide vest]]
| fatalities = 14 (including the perpetrator)
| injuries = 125
| perps =
| perpetrator = [[Hamas]]
| numpart = 1
}}

The '''Dizengoff Center suicide bombing''' was a [[Palestinian suicide attacks|Palestinian suicide terrorist attack]] which took place on March 4, 1996, on the eve of the Jewish holiday of [[Purim]]. The [[suicide bomber]] blew himself up outside [[Dizengoff Center]] in downtown [[Tel Aviv]], killing 13 Israelis<ref name="mfa1">{{cite web|url=http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-%20Obstacle%20to%20Peace/Palestinian%20terror%20since%202000/Suicide%20and%20Other%20Bombing%20Attacks%20in%20Israel%20Since|title=Suicide and Other Bombing Attacks in Israel Since the Declaration of Principles (Sept 1993)|publisher=Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs|access-date=20 May 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100403224249/http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/terrorism-%20obstacle%20to%20peace/palestinian%20terror%20since%202000/Suicide%20and%20Other%20Bombing%20Attacks%20in%20Israel%20Since|archive-date=3 April 2010}}</ref> and wounding 130 more. The terrorist attack was the fourth suicide bombing in Israel in nine days, bringing the death toll during that span to over 60.<ref name="nyt">{{cite news |author=Serge |first=Schmemann |date=5 March 2010 |title=Bombing in Israel:The Overview;4th Terror Blast in Israel Kills 14 at Mall in Tel Aviv; Nine-Day Toll Grows to 61 |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/03/05/world/bombing-israel-overview-4th-terror-blast-israel-kills-14-mall-tel-aviv-nine-day.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230329103851/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/03/05/world/bombing-israel-overview-4th-terror-blast-israel-kills-14-mall-tel-aviv-nine-day.html |archive-date=29 March 2023}}</ref>

== Background ==
After the [[Shin Bet]] assassinated Hamas military leader [[Yahya Ayyash]] on 5 January 1996, [[Mohammed Deif]], who later served as commander of the [[Qassam Brigades]], organized a mass-casualty bombing campaign inside Israel as retaliation, including the Dizengoff Center suicide bombing in Tel Aviv and the two [[Jaffa Road bus bombings]] in Jerusalem. These operations were, in their scale, scope and sophistication, different and larger than any attacks of the past, and it has been alleged{{by whom|date=July 2025}} that both Syria and Iran had helped in their planning and financing. According to a report, [[Syria|Syrian]] Minister of Defense [[Mustafa Tlass]] instructed [[Ghazi Kanaan]], the commander of Syrian forces in [[Lebanon]], to establish links between [[Hezbollah]] and Hamas fighters, who were then trained both in Lebanon and in [[Iran]] and participated in the retaliatory operations for the murder of Ayyash.<ref name="meib2">{{cite journal |last=Gambill |first=Gary C. |date=October 2002 |title=Sponsoring Terrorism: Syria and Hamas |url=http://www.meforum.org/meib/articles/0210_s1.htm |url-status=dead |journal=Middle East Intelligence Bulletin |volume=4 |issue=10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191205025415/https://www.meforum.org/meib/articles/0210_s1.htm |archive-date=5 December 2019 |access-date=7 July 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Inquirer |date=19 May 1996 |title=Israel Arrests A Hamas Leader Hassan Salameh Was Shot And Wounded In A Chase. He Is Believed To Have Planned Three Of This Year's Bombings |url=http://articles.philly.com/1996-05-19/news/25624331_1_hassan-salameh-israel-arrests-israeli-troops |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303235827/http://articles.philly.com/1996-05-19/news/25624331_1_hassan-salameh-israel-arrests-israeli-troops |archive-date=3 March 2016 |accessdate=29 October 2014 |website=The Philadelphia Inquirer |agency=INQUIRER WIRE SERVICES}}</ref> According to [[Mike Kelly (journalist)|Mike Kelly]], Hamas operative Hassan Salameh, who planned three of the attacks, was trained in Iran.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kelly |first1=Michael |title=Bus on Jaffa Road: A Story of Middle East Terrorism and the Search for Justice |date=2014 |publisher=Lyons Press |pages=164–179}}</ref> In 2000, families of American victims of the attacks filed a lawsuit against Tlass, Kanaan and Iranian Minister of Intelligence [[Ali Fallahian]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Weinstein v. Islamic Republic of Iran, 175 F. Supp. 2d 13 {{!}} Casetext Search + Citator |url=https://casetext.com/case/weinstein-v-islamic-republic-of-iran-3 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240426064437/https://casetext.com/case/weinstein-v-islamic-republic-of-iran-3 |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 26, 2024 |access-date=19 November 2024 |website=casetext.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Bodoff v. Islamic Republic of Iran, 424 F. Supp. 2d 74 {{!}} Casetext Search + Citator |url=https://casetext.com/case/bodoff-v-islamic-republic-of-iran |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200522190523/https://casetext.com/case/bodoff-v-islamic-republic-of-iran |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 22, 2020 |access-date=19 November 2024 |website=casetext.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Eisenfeld v. Islamic Republic of Iran, 172 F. Supp. 2d 1 (D.D.C. 2000) |url=https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp2/172/1/2309032/ |access-date=19 November 2024 |website=Justia Law |language=en}}</ref>

==The attack==
[[File:PikiWiki_Israel_8437_memorial_to_the_victims_of_dizengof_center_terror.jpg|thumb|250px|Memorial for the attack victims]]
The suicide bomber detonated just before 4 pm ([[Greenwich Mean Time|GMT]]+2) outside the Dizengoff Center, the largest shopping mall in Tel Aviv. That day the center was particularly crowded for the eve of Purim. Many in the crowd were children dressed in costume for the holiday. The bomber sought to enter the mall but turned back because of the police presence. Instead, he went into the busy intersection where a large number of pedestrians were crossing the street and set off his {{Convert|20|kg|adj=on}} nail bomb.<ref name="mfa1"/><ref name="nyt"/> Following the attack, a phone call to an Israeli radio station apparently from a Hamas representative identified the attacker as Abdel-Rahim Ishaq, a 24-year-old resident of [[Ramallah]].<ref name="nyt"/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20091027163108/http://www.geocities.com/dizquilt/Victims_quilts.html The Bat-Chen Diaries]
*[https://www.jpost.com/ArtsAndCulture/Entertainment/Article.aspx?id=54740 Patches, a memorial film]
*{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091027163108/http://www.geocities.com/dizquilt/Victims_quilts.html |date=October 27, 2009 |title=The Dizengoff Memorial Quilt Project }}

{{Terrorist attacks against Israelis in the 1990s}}
{{Palestinian militancy attacks in the 1990s}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dizengoff Center Suicide Bombing}}
[[Category:Suicide bombings in 1996]]
[[Category:Israeli casualties in the Second Intifada]]
[[Category:Suicide bombings in Tel Aviv]]
[[Category:1996 mass murders]]
[[Category:Massacres in Israel]]
[[Category:Massacres in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict]]
[[Category:March 1996 crimes]]
[[Category:March 1996 in Asia]]
[[Category:1990s in Tel Aviv]]
[[Category:Islamic terrorist incidents in 1996]]
[[Category:Hamas suicide bombings]]
[[Category:1996 murders in Israel]]
[[Category:Terrorist incidents in Israel in 1996]]
[[Category:Shopping mall bombings in Israel]]
[[Category:Tel Aviv in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict]]

Dizengoff Center suicide bombing - Revision history

WernerStoate3 at 10:04, 14 December 2025