- Hamas school bus attack
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Hamas school bus attack 
The attack siteCoordinates 31°28′12″N 34°31′40″E / 31.47°N 34.52778°E Date 7 April 2011 Attack type Laser guided missile attack Weapon(s) Kornet anti-tank missile Death(s) 1 child Injured 1 Perpetrator(s) Al-Qassam Brigades Palestinian rocket attacks
on Israel
By year 2001 · 2002–2006 · 2007
2008 · 2008 cease-fire
Gaza War · 2009 · 2010 · 2011Groups responsible Fatah · Hamas · Islamic Jihad
Popular Resistance Committees
Ansar al-Sunna · Force 17
Army of Islam · Tawhid wal-Jihad
Abdullah Azzam BrigadesRocket types Mortar · Qassam · Al-Quds
Katyusha · GradCities hit Ashdod · Ashkelon · Beersheba
Gedera · Kiryat Gat · Kiryat Malakhi
Netivot · Sderot · Ofakim · YavneRegional Council areas hit Settlements hit (evacuated) Atzmona · Dugit · Elei Sinai
Gadid · Ganei Tal · Katif
Kfar Darom · Morag
Netzarim · Netzer Hazani
Neve Dekalim · Nisanit
Rafiah Yam · SlavActions by Israel Civil defense in Israel
Red Color · Iron Dome · ZAKARelated topics Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Palestinian political violence
Palestinian suicide attacks
Palestinian animal bomb attacks
Lebanese rocket attacks on IsraelThe Hamas school bus attack was a 7 April 2011 incident in which Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired a Kornet laser-guided anti-tank missile over the border at an Israeli school bus. Hamas militants claimed responsibility.[1] The group had largely held its fire since the last major Israeli offensive in Gaza,[2] but said the attack was in retaliation for the killing of some of its leaders the previous week.[3][4]
Hamas said the bus was traveling a road often used by Israeli military vehicles and it was not known at the time of the attack that it carried schoolchildren.[5] Israel said the bus' yellow color made it easily identifiable to whoever had fired the missile and accused the group of "crossing a line."[5]
The missile hit the bus after all but one of the children had been dropped off at the kibbutz where they lived, and the bus had traveled just 50 metres beyond its that last stop there.[6] The only remaining passenger, a 16-year-old boy named Daniel Viflic, was critically injured with shrapnel wounds to the head and died from his injuries on 17 April. The driver was lightly injured.[7][8][9][10]
Fears that the attack would lead to a second Gaza War did not materialize[1], but the incident was followed by a several-day stretch of violence in which Palestinians launched over 100 projectiles at Israel in which no Israelis were killed, and at least 20 Israeli strikes from its army, navy, and air force that left 19 dead and at least 45 wounded in Gaza by the time hostilities had ceased.[3][11][12][13]
Reports varied widely as to how many of the Gazans killed were civilians versus militants: Haaretz said just two were civilians, AFP reported while the violence was still ongoing that seven civilians were killed, and the BBC just said that "many" were. The dead in Gaza included a mother and her 21-year-old daughter, a policeman, and a 10-year-old boy. [3][11][12][13] News agency Agence France-Presse reported that the interval following the bus attack included "the deadliest 24 hours of violence in the Strip since the end of the Gaza war" two years previously.[13]
The attack on the school bus was condemned by the United Nations, the United States, France, and the United Kingdom, and multiple calls were issued for cessation of the mutual hostilities that followed.
Contents
Background
Main article: Gaza–Israel conflictHamas had largely held its fire since the last major Israeli offensive in Gaza,[2] in December, 2008,[3] but stated that three of its leaders had been killed by Israel the previous weekend,[4] 2–3 April 2011, and that the attack was a retaliation for those killings. In the 48 hours prior to the attack, Palestinians had also fired a separate anti-tank missile at an Israeli target. Anti-tank missiles, unlike rockets and mortars, are extremely accurate, and their use requires more skill.[6]
The attack
On 7 April 2011 a school bus belonging to the Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council, painted with a bright yellow color scheme to be easily recognizable as a vehicle transporting school children, was dropping off students near their homes in their villages.
The missile hit the rear of the bus after all but one of the children had been dropped off at the kibbutz of Sa'ad, and the bus had travelled just 50 metres beyond its last stop there.[6] The sole remaining passenger, Daniel Viflic, a 16-year-old yeshiva student from Beit Shemesh, was critically injured by shrapnel which penetrated his brain. Viflic also suffered shrapnel wounds to head, neck and body, and massive blood loss. He temporarily stopped breathing, which prevented oxygen from reaching his brain. Viflic had been on the bus riding along with driver Zion Yemini,[14] who was a family friend. The driver was lightly injured in the leg, and was able to pull the bus over to the side of the road, where he carried Viflic out of the vehicle.[7][8][9][10][6][8][9][10][15]
Viflic being resucitated by paramedics
Paramedics arrived quickly and began resucitating Viflic. Hamas militants launched a mortar barrage timed to coincide with the arrival of paramedics, and medics attending to Viflic had to work under heavy mortar fire. Mortar fire delayed Viflic's evacuation. Viflic was airlifted in critical condition to Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, where he was placed in the pediatric intensive care unit. Shortly afterward, his brain stopped functioning. Following an initial brain scan, doctors concluded that Viflic had sustained a permanent brain injury. Doctors tried every treatment for cases of severe head trauma such as medication, special respiratory therapy, and attempts to lower his body temperature. Viflic remained in a coma on life support, showing no evidence of any brain activity.[16] His condition was upgraded to extremely critical on 12 April. Viflic died on 17 April, ten days after the attack, as a result of a severe brain injury.[17][7][6][7][18]
The military wing of Hamas claimed responsibility.[1] The group had largely held its fire since the last major Israeli offensive in Gaza,[2] but said the attack was in retaliation for the killing of some of its leaders the previous week.[3][4]
The school bus after the attackBecause the Russian-made Kornet is an accurate, laser-guided weapon, it appeared that the bus was intentionally targeted.[1] Hamas said the bus was travelling a road often used by Israeli military vehicles and it was not known at the time of the attack that it carried schoolchildren.[5] Israel said the bus' yellow color made it easily identifiable to whoever had fired the rocket, and accused the group of "crossing a line."[5]
The attackers were never apprehended.
Counterattack and escalation
Fearing harsh Israeli retaliation, Palestinian militant organizations in the Gaza Strip declared a cease-fire as of 11 pm, which was ignored by Israel.[19] The Israeli Air Force immediately bombed two smuggling tunnels in the northern Gaza Strip, injuring four people. Rocket and mortar fire from Gaza began a few hours later,[6] and at least 45 additional Palestinian projectiles were fired into Israel over a three-hour period. No one was killed, but residents were instructed to stay inside their homes, children were ordered to stay inside schools, and police sealed roads in the area for fear of additional attacks.[7][20] One mortar shell damaged a home in the Eshkol Regional Council, but caused no injuries.[7] A Grad rocket fired at Ashkelon was intercepted by an Iron Dome battery, marking the first successful interception of a short-range rocket in history.[7] Immediately afterward, an Israeli aircraft fired at the militant squad that had launched the rocket, and confirmed a hit.
The Israeli Air Force and Israeli Navy launched missile attacks on targets in Gaza, while the Israeli Army attacked Gazan targets with artillery and tank fire.[11] News agency Agence France-Presse reported that the effect of Israel's actions included "the deadliest 24 hours of violence" in Gaza since the Gaza War had ended, two years previously.[13] Israeli forces had conducted more than 20 strikes by the following day. Palestinian militants fired 6 rockets and 24 mortar shells at Israel. An Iron Dome battery intercepted three rockets fired at Ashkelon; a fourth landed in an open field near the city. An Israeli aircraft fired at the Hamas cell that had launched the rockets and scored a direct hit. Israeli aircraft bombed two Palestinian militant cells east of Khan Yunis as they fired mortars at Israel.[11] Palestinian casualties stood at 14 dead and 45 wounded. At least five were Hamas militants, and one was a policeman.[3] Among the civilians reported killed in Gaza were a mother and her 21-year-old daughter. The Israeli military admitted that civilians had been apparently harmed in its attacks, saying that "Hamas chooses to operate from within civilian populations and uses them as human shields".[3][11] .[13] Palestinian rocket fire had seriously damaged chicken coops and a factory, and damaged a residential structure in a kibbutz in the Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council.
Concerns that this escalation might develop into a Second Gaza War did not materialize.[1]
Diplomatic reactions
- Domestic
Israeli President Shimon Peres said to United Nations Security Council ambassadors: "I was just informed that an Israeli bus carrying students from school was hit by a missile fired from Gaza. This is another example of how Gaza has turned into a terror state. Can the United Nations guarantee that terrorist acts will not happen? None of you would give up on the security of your country, and Israel will also defend itself. Hundreds of thousands of mothers and children in southern Israel cannot sleep peacefully at night as a result of the rocket fire from Gaza."[21]
- Eshkol Regional Council official Haim Yellin said: "As soon as they fire on a children's bus we say loudly: our children are not cannon fodder and they are not the hostages of any terrorist or terror organisation."[1]
- Supranational
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the attack and urged Israel to act with "maximum restraint."[13]
- European Union official Catherine Ashton called for a total cessation of violence between Gaza and Israel after the IDF carried out retaliatory strikes for the school bus attack, saying she was "deeply concerned by the current escalation of violence."[22]
- International
The French Foreign Ministry released a statement saying: "France strongly condemns the missile, rocket and mortar attacks against civilians yesterday in southern Israel. In this regard, firing an anti-tank missile at a school bus represents a new escalation. We call for an immediate halt to this violence. France deplores the humanitarian consequences of Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip that came in response, resulting in several civilian casualties. It is urgent to end the escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip. We call on all the parties to respect a lasting truce. These events remind us, as if it were necessary, of the urgency of reaching a negotiated resolution to the conflict.[23]
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said: "I unreservedly condemn today’s attack from Gaza on a bus carrying school children in southern Israel. The initial reports we have received suggest the bus was deliberately targeted and that a 16-year-old boy has been critically injured. This is a despicable and cowardly act that stands in stark contrast to people’s desire for peaceful reform across the region. Violence will never deliver peace. I reiterate that Hamas must halt these strikes immediately, and rein in other militant factions in Gaza. This attack further highlights Israel’s legitimate security concerns. As I have made clear, Israel has every right to protect its people.".[22]
- After the death of Viflic, Foreign Secretary Hague expressed his condolences to the family: "Daniel was just 16. The tragedy of his death is brought home all the more in that it occurs on the eve of Passover, normally a time of celebration for Jewish families all over the world. I would like to extend my deepest sympathies to Daniel's family, and I reiterate my utter abhorrence of the cowardly attack which cost him his life, and my call for an end to all such attacks on innocent civilians."[24]
A US State Department official said: "We condemn the attack on innocent civilians in southern Israel in the strongest possible terms, and on-going rocket fire from Gaza. As we have reiterated many times, there is no justification for the targeting of innocent civilians, and those responsible for these terrorist attacks should be held accountable. We are deeply concerned about reports that indicate the use of an advanced antitank weapon in an attack against civilians, and reiterate that all countries have obligations under relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions to prevent illicit trafficking in arms and ammunition."[25]
See also
- List of Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel, 2011
- Palestinian political violence
- Violence in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Avivim school bus massacre
- Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel
- Ramat Eshkol bus bombing
- Shmuel HaNavi bus bombing
References
- ^ a b c d e f School bus attack may spark Gaza war, The Australian 9 April 2011
- ^ a b c Israel strikes Hard in Gaza after school bus hit, Associated Press via Yahoo News, 8 April 2011
- ^ a b c d e f g Gaza: Israel Kills 12 Amid Cross-border Exchanges, BBC News, (as revised) 8 April 2011
- ^ a b c Hamas claims responsibility for missile strike on bus that wounded boy, CNN 7 April 2011
- ^ a b c d Hamas says didn't mean to target Israeli school bus. Reuters. 9 April 2011
- ^ a b c d e f Teen critically injured in attack on Negev bus, Ynet Israel News 7 April 2011
- ^ a b c d e f g Anti-tank missile falls on Negev school bus, injuring two, Jerusalem Post. 7 April 2011
- ^ a b c IDF chief urges calm in south, Israel News 8 April 2011
- ^ a b c Israeli boy Daniel Viflic dies after rocket hits bus, BBC News 18 April 2011
- ^ a b c Condition of teen injured in Hamas bus attack worsens, Jerusalem Post 12 April 2011
- ^ a b c d e Iron Dome intercepts rockets fired at Ashkelon, Israel News 8 April 2011
- ^ a b IDF refrains from response to Gaza rocket fire as border violence cools, Haaretz. 11 April 2011
- ^ a b c d e f 11 Palestinians die as Israeli planes, tanks hit Gaza, AFP. National Post 10 April 2011)
- ^ http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4056380,00.html
- ^ Heroic bus driver says he always feared attack, Jerusalem Post 11 April 2011
- ^ http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4055801,00.html
- ^ http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4058157,00.html
- ^ Israeli teen hit by rocket from Gaza dies, UPI 17 April 2011
- ^ http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4053931,00.html
- ^ 3 more Kassams fired from Gaza; no injuries reported, Jerusalem Post 7 April 2011
- ^ Peres: Bus attack shows Gaza turned into terror state, Haaretz 7 April 2011
- ^ a b Ashton calls for a 'cessation of violence' in Gaza, Jerusalem Post 8 April 2011
- ^ Violence in southern Israel and the Gaza Strip (8 April 2011), France Diplomatie
- ^ Hague expresses condolences to Viflic family, Jerusalem Post 18 April 2011
- ^ US condemns anti-tank missile attack on school bus, Jerusalem Post 7 April 2011
External links
- Daniel Viflic, Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Prominent terrorist attacks against Israeli targets in the history of the Arab–Israeli conflict – the 2010s 2010 Tapuah junction stabbing (February 10) – West Bank shooting attack (August 31)2011 Itamar attack (March 11) – Jerusalem bus stop bombing (March 23) – Hamas school bus attack (April 7) – Southern Israel cross-border attacks (August 18) – Tel Aviv nightclub attack (August 29)Full list of Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel • Full list of Egyptian rocket attacks on Israel • Rocket attacks on Eilat
2000s
Categories:- Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Terrorist incidents in Israel in 2011
- 2011 in the Palestinian territories
- Terrorist attacks attributed to Palestinian militant groups
- Murdered Israeli children
- Hamas
- Attacks on buses by Palestinian militant groups
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