Four people were killed and eight injured when a vehicle exploded in the central Israeli city of Ramla on Thursday, September 12, in an apparent gangland hit, medics and police said.
Liad Aviel, spokesperson for the Asaf Harofe Medical Center in central Israel, said it "mourns the deaths of four individuals injured in the Ramla incident," adding that six other casualties were receiving treatment there. The Israeli police said it had launched an investigation into the cause of the explosion which was suspected to be linked to "a criminal conflict between crime families in the Arab neighbourhood."
Israel's emergency medical service Magen David Adom said the vehicle "exploded while parked on the sidewalk near a store and residential building" in Ramla.
Located east of Israel's commercial hub of Tel Aviv, Ramla is a mixed city, home to both Jews and Arabs. Arab communities in Israel have long complained of violence connected to organised crime. Organizations such as the Mossawa Center, a nonprofit representing Arabs in Israel, argue such violence should receive more attention from the government.
Earlier Thursday, the Lebanese health ministry said a child was among three people killed in an Israeli strike in the south, amid ongoing exchanges of fire between Israel and Hezbollah.
The Lebanese health ministry said an "Israeli enemy strike" hit the village of Kfarjouz near Nabatieh, some 10 kilometers from the border with Israel. The strike killed "three people, among them a child, and wounded three others", the ministry said, without providing further details.
A source close to Hezbollah confirmed that one of dead was "a fighter in Hezbollah" and the two others were "civilians." Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said the strike "targeted two motorcycles on the Nabatieh-Kfarjouz road," adding that a passing car was also hit.
Earlier Thursday, Hezbollah said it launched a number of attacks on military positions in northern Israel, some with drones.
The Israeli military said "approximately 15 projectiles" were identified crossing from Lebanon into Israeli territory but some were intercepted and no casualties were reported.
Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah group has been trading near-daily cross-border fire with Israel since Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, triggering war in the Gaza Strip.