The bomb, constructed using a gas canister and detonated using a cellular phone, was planted opposite a large spring frequented by youths and families from all over Gush Etzion, south of Jerusalem. The natural spring in located north of the town of N'vei Daniel.
Residents of nearby communities heard a loud explosion shortly after 4 PM Friday, grabbed medical supplies and rushed to the scene to treat the dozens of wounded they expected to find there. A large plume of smoke rose from the area and fires had broken out in several directions.
Residents and first-response medics swept the scene together with IDF soldiers stationed nearby. To their great relief, they found that the last two young women who had been spotted walking to the site had left before the blast.
Pieces of a cellular phone were found at the scene, and two local Arab farmers were apprehended fleeing the area on donkeys.
The springs are usually packed with teenagers on Friday afternoons, but, possibly due to a sudden overgrowth of algae, the spring was completely empty at the time of detonation. Men who usually frequent the spring for pre-Sabbath ritual immersion had also gone to a mikveh (ritual bath) in nearby N'vei Daniel that was open Friday. The mikveh is usually only opened for men on the eve of holidays.
The bomb was positioned to inflict maximum damage to the area used by visitors reclining in the shade of nearby fig trees, implying early surveillance of the site. The explosive device was packed with shrapnel made of cut-up iron bars usually used in construction. Many local Arabs work in nearby Jewish towns including Efrat and N'vei Daniel, and pass by the spring on their way back to their villages.
According to press reports Friday afternoon, the Fatah-linked terror organization Al Aksa Brigades took credit for the failed attack.