Ten people were killed, and another 13 are in very critical or critical condition, after a suicide terrorist blew up on a public city bus in a central Jerusalem neighborhood this morning. Medics on the scene said that it was one of the worst sights they had ever seen; the explosives destroyed the bus almost totally, and caused the floor to collapse, trapping and burying victims underneath. The explosion took place only dozens of meters from the Prime Minister's residence.

It took almost eight hours before the first of the ten victims could be identified: Eli Tzafira, 47, of Jerusalem. The bodies were taken to Abu Kabir Forensic Institute in Jaffa. Israel's Foreign Ministry has posted a video of the terror site taken moments after the explosion. The site includes a cautionary note that the video "contains very graphic footage," but Foreign Ministry spokesman Yoni Peled said, "We wanted to bring the difficult feelings and sights that Israelis are undergoing to the attention of the public." The video is likely to be included in Israel's affidavit at The Hague's counter-terrorism wall deliberations tomorrow.



The attack - the first one that Palestinian terrorists were able to perpetrate in over five months, due to intense intelligence and security work - took place only minutes before Elchanan Tenenbaum was transferred to Israeli hands in Germany as part of the prisoner/hostage deal. Some analysts say that the Palestinians thus wished to offstage Hizbullah in the competition between them regarding which terrorist group could make Israel bleed more. Others say that the Palestinian terrorists are miffed that "only" 400 of their number are being freed in the exchange. It has been repeatedly emphasized, however, that attempted Palestinian terrorist attacks of this nature are almost a daily occurrence.

Fifty people are reported wounded in the explosion, but the number is expected to rise as shock victims report to hospitals on their own. The explosion took place on a #19 bus on its way from Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital to the northern parts of the city, very close to the Moment Cafe where eleven people were killed on March 9, 2002 in another Palestinian terrorist suicide attack.



The names of those killed have been released for publication:

Dana Ituch, 24, from the Pisgat Ze'ev neighborhood ofJerusalem

Eli Tsefira, 48, of Jerusalem

Hana Anya Bunder, 38, of Jerusalem

Baruch Hondiashvili, 38, of Jerusalem

Avraham Balachson, 29, of Jerusalem

Rose Boneh, 39, of Jerusalem

Octavian Floresco Viorel, 41, of Jerusalem

Natalia Gamril, 50, of Jerusalem

Anat Darom, 23, of Jerusalem

Rabbi Yechezkel (Chezi) Issar Goldberg, 42, of Beitar Illit, leaves behind 7 children