After one Israeli was killed and at least 37 others injured in varying severities after a suspected truck ramming attack near Glilot, police are still investigating the incident to say whether it was a planned attack or an unusual accident.
Most of the injured in the incident were retirees who arrived in the area as part of a guided tour. "As soon as we stopped and started getting off [the bus], we heard a boom. I turned around and saw people being thrown about," Avraham Zohar, who participated in the tour, recounted.
"My wife was thrown and then dropped to the ground because she thought it was a bombing attack. I picked her up and started moving forward. I went back because people were piling and we began pulling them out one by one. It was a graphic sight, but we had no choice. The truck driver was trapped inside and we told the police and then I heard two or three gunshots and realized they had neutralized" the driver, he said.
Zohar said the police informed them that it was a terror attack. "We didn't realize it was a terror attack. The police came and said it probably was. An officer asked where the truck driver was. I told him he was stuck inside. The officer climbed up and started talking to him, and the driver began moving and then I heard gunshots."
Yechiel Ben Moshe, an 81-year-old from Petah Tikva, also participated in the tour. "We were a group of retirees going to Glilot to visit a museum and listen to a lecture," he said. "The bus parked, and people got off. A truck came from behind and I heard a huge noise from the truck; it drove toward us to run us over."
Footage of scene of attack in Glilot
(Video: Tal Shachar, Magen David Adom)
"I moved aside and managed to escape while others around me fell and some were hit. I was already off the bus so I wasn’t hurt. Around me, everyone was injured and bleeding, and others were in shock. It looked like an accident at first, but then shots were fired at the terrorist," he added.
Shuki Green was also on the scene as part of the tour. "When we were told to get off the bus, my wife and I exited through the front door and were lucky to be unharmed," he said.
"Those who got off through the middle door were hit by the truck. We didn’t realize it was a terror attack. Some said the driver was holding a knife but I didn’t see it. I thought a missile had landed because there was dust and metal and stones flying in the air. I ran and fell several times," he said.
"We saw the truck speeding and it was lucky the bus had stopped," his wife Dvora added. "Large forces arrived immediately. Everything was chaotic, and a thick cloud of smoke formed. We heard a boom at the moment of the ramming. It was an attack; he sped toward us, where the people were standing. We had been really looking forward to this trip."
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Police Commissioner Daniel Levy also arrived at the scene. "This incident is being investigated as a terror attack and that's how it should be treated. I fully support the police and civilians who neutralized the attacker," Ben-Gvir said.
The driver, Rami Nasrallah from the Arab town of Qalansawe, was shot and killed. His relatives claimed the incident wasn't a terror attack. "That's a lie. Rami suffers from illnesses and lost control of the truck due to a medical issue," a relative said.
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