A man was killed Thursday afternoon in a car explosion on Harimon Street in the southern city of Kiryat Gat.
Rescue teams responding to reports of a burning vehicle found the victim lifeless in the vehicle. Police have launched an investigation on suspicion of a criminal assassination.
The deceased is known to law enforcement, and units from the Southern District, including bomb disposal experts and forensic investigators, arrived at the scene to collect evidence. The circumstances of the incident are under investigation.
Magen David Adom (MDA) emergency medic Aviad Benhamo said, "We received several reports about a vehicle that exploded. When we arrived, we saw the car burning. During the firefighting efforts, we saw a man showing no signs of life, and we were forced to declare his death at the scene."
This incident is the latest in a series of criminal car explosions which occurred recently. Six days ago, Amad Agbariya, 51, was killed in a car explosion near the village of Musheirifa on Highway 65; the investigation indicated a potential criminally-motivated assassination.
A week before that, Lia Malka, 35, from Rishon Lezion, was killed when an explosive device detonated in her vehicle on the Ayalon Highway near the Holon interchange; her ex-partner was arrested during the investigation on suspicion of murder.