UPDATED: SUICIDE BOMBER MURDERS 9 IN ISRAEL

UPDATE: Nine killed in Tel Aviv suicide bombing (JPost)
Less than two hours before the 17th Knesset was sworn in on Monday afternoon, terror struck in southern Tel Aviv as a suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowd at the entrance to a fast food stand, killing nine people and wounding close to 70 others.

Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the bombing that ripped through the Rosh Ha'ir shwarma stand on Rehov Salome in the southern Tel Aviv neighborhood of Neveh Sha'anan, not far from the old Tel Aviv central bus station. The same restaurant was hit in a similar suicide attack three months ago, injuring 20 people.

Four of the victims were identified as women, and five as men. Six names have been released: Philip Balahsan, 45, from Ashdod, a father of two children who were wounded as well; Victor Erez, 60, from Givatayim; Binyamin Hafuta, 47, from Lod; Ariel Darhi from Bat Yam; Piroshka Boda, 50, and Rosalia Basalia, 48, both Romanian citizens. Erez's funeral was scheduled for 11 a.m. on Tuesday at the Yarkon cemetery.

Thirty-six of the victims remained hospitalized overnight at Ichilov, Sheba and Wolfson Hospitals, and at the Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva. The wounded included two children, a 60-year-old French tourist, and a 16-year-old American tourist who was listed in critical condition. Nine victims were listed in serious condition, 16 moderate and the rest in light condition.

The suicide bomber was identified by Israeli sources as Sami Hamad from the village of al-Gharakah, near Jenin. Media reports listed his age as 16, but his family said he was 21.

Suicide Bomber Kills 7 in Tel Aviv By DANIEL ROBINSON (A.P.)
TEL AVIV, Israel- A Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up outside a fast-food restaurant in a bustling commercial area of Tel Aviv during the Passover holiday Monday, killing seven other people and wounding at least 49, police said. A security guard posted outside the restaurant, the target of a suicide bombing in January, prevented Monday's bomber from entering the building, police said.

It was the first suicide attack in Israel since the Hamas militant group took over the Palestinian government 2 1/2 weeks ago. Hamas, which has killed hundreds of Israelis in attacks, has largely observed a cease-fire since February 2005.

The Islamic Jihad militant group, which is believed to be funded in part by Iran and refuses to observe a cease-fire, claimed responsibility in a telephone call to The Associated Press. The attack came a day after the group pledged to carry out more attacks.

Islamic Jihad has claimed responsibility for all six of the previous suicide attacks inside Israel since the cease-fire was declared.

Hamas leaders called the bombing a legitimate response to Israeli "aggression" _ a sharp departure from the previous Palestinian leadership's immediate condemnations of such attacks. "We think that this operation ... is a direct result of the policy of the occupation and the brutal aggression and siege committed against our people," said Khaled Abu Helal, spokesman for the Hamas-led Interior Ministry.