One killed, dozens hurt in Israel truck ramming

One person was killed and dozens were injured on Sunday when a truck struck a bus stop at a major intersection near Tel Aviv in central Israel in what police said they suspected was a terrorist attack.

Israeli police said about 40 people were injured to varying degrees, including some seriously, and were taken to nearby hospitals.

Ichilov Medical Center in Tel Aviv said one of the victims succumbed to his wounds. Nearly Sheba Medical Center said it treated eight civilians and soldiers.

The attack, in which a truck ran into a bus stop close to a military base, took place around 10am local time (8am Irish time), police said, noting the driver - who had Israeli citizenship - was "neutralised" by gunfire from a nearby civilian.

"All investigative directions are being examined with an emphasis on the suspicion that this is a terror attack," police said.

In a separate incident, Israeli soldiers killed a man who tried to stab them during a "counterterrorism" operation near Jerusalem, the military said, describing it as a "terror attack".

The truck ramming incident occurred at Ahron Yariv Boulevard in Ramat Hasharon near the commercial hub of Tel Aviv.

Preliminary police findings showed the truck driver also hit a bus that had stopped at the same station to drop off passengers, the police said in a statement.

Police did not clarify whether it was an attack, but added that civilians at the site "shot the truck driver and neutralised him".

Paramedic Elior Yosef, who arrived at the bus stop after the ramming, said he saw eight people "trapped under the truck".

"A number of further casualties were either lying or walking near the truck," he was quoted as saying in the statement issued by Magen David Adom.

Officers and ambulances attended the scene, where AFP journalists saw police cordoning off the area as medics helped the injured and a helicopter hovered above.

Palestinian militant group Hamas, in a statement, said the "heroic ramming attack" that was carried out near "Mossad headquarters... was in response to the crimes committed by the Zionist occupation" against Palestinians.

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In a separate incident, a man who tried to stab a group of soldiers was killed in the area of Hizma near Jerusalem.

"A terrorist accelerated with his vehicle toward IDF soldiers who were conducting counterterrorism activity adjacent to the area of Hizma," the military said in a statement, without identifying the attacker.

"The terrorist pulled out a knife from his vehicle, and attempted to carry out a stabbing attack. The soldiers eliminated the terrorist and thwarted the attempted terror attack," it said, adding that no soldiers were injured.

Since the war in Gaza broke out on 7 October last year, there have been several attacks in Israel carried out by Palestinian militants.

At least 30 people, including Israeli soldiers, have been killed in such attacks since then in Israel, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Today's incidents come as Israel held ceremonies to mark the Hebrew calendar anniversary of the 7 October Hamas attack that sparked the ongoing wars in Gaza and Lebanon.