Five killed in gun attack near Tunisia island synagogue
The death toll from a synagogue gun attack on the Tunisian island of Djerba during an annual Jewish pilgrimage has risen to five, Tunisia’s TAP news agency says.
A policeman checks a car near Ghriba synagogue in Djerba, Tunisia, Wednesday May 10, 2023. Photo: Moncef Abidi/AP
Two Jewish pilgrims and three Tunisian police guards were shot dead during the firing spree at the Ghriba synagogue on Tuesday.
Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed on Wednesday morning that one of the victims of a terror attack on a synagogue in Tunisia was an Israeli national.
During a Lag B’Omer holiday pilgrimage to the ancient Djerba synagogue, a security guard killed a co-worker, took his ammunition and fired on visitors and other guards.
Two Jews, identified as cousins Aviel and Benjamin Hadad, were killed. The 30-year-old Aviel Hadad was a dual Israeli-Tunisian national. Benjamin Hadad was a French national.
Tunisian authorities said four civilians and six guards were also injured.
The synagogue, located on Djerba Island, is nearly 2,500 years old and is believed to be the oldest in Africa. Although Tunisia and Israel do not have diplomatic relations, Israelis are allowed to make pilgrimages to Djerba if they enter the country with an organized tour group.
Djerba is also home to around 1,000 Jews.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said it was in contact with the family of the deceased and is prepared to assist additional Israelis as needed.
In 2002, an Al-Qaida truck bomb near the synagogue killed 21 people.
Tunisian authorities opened an investigation into the attack and it was not known if the Jewish pilgrims were specifically targeted by the gunman, who was quickly slain by security guards before he could enter the synagogue complex.
Little is known about the gunman’s identity.
A police guard who had been hospitalised in the immediate aftermath died from his wounds on Wednesday, according to a medical official cited by TAP, while four other members of the security forces remain hospitalised in Djerba, including one who is in critical condition.
Ghriba Synagogue committee chair Perez Trabelsi was in the synagogue during the attack and told the Associated Press of his terror “when the sound of the cartridges broke out”.
“I was scared, as were most of the people gathered in the ‘oukala,’ a large space adjacent to the synagogue. Everyone was panicked. Many took refuge in the rooms for fear of being hit by the shots that came from outside,” he said.
He was saddened that the pilgrimage to the historic synagogue that is revered in Judaism “was spoiled by those who wish Tunisia harm,” he said.
The assailant, a guard affiliated with the National Guard naval centre in the port town of Aghir on Djerba, first killed a colleague with his service weapon before seizing ammunition and heading toward the Ghriba synagogue, the Tunisian Interior ministry said.
When he reached the site, he opened fire on security units stationed at the temple, who fired back, killing him before he reached the entrance, the ministry said.
Former tourism minister René Trabelsi told Tunisian radio Mosaique FM that he was at the Ghriba synagogue with fam ily members during the attack.
He describ ed the place as almost empty because most visitors had already left the site.
“The shooting was heavy and the attacker tried to enter the synagogue compound,” he said.
“The counterterrorism officers, who were extremely professional, quickly blocked all exits. A carnage was thus avoided.”
More pilgrims than have been seen in recent years came to Ghribi this year – about 6000 people from the United States, Canada, Australia and Europe and beyond, Trabelsi added.
Jews have been living in Djerba, a picturesque island off the southern coast of Tunisia, since 500 BC.
An annual pilgrimage at the reportedly 2500-year-old Ghriba temple, thought to be one of the world’s oldest synagogues, attracts thousands of visitors from around the world.
The first Jews who arrived were said to have brought a stone from the ancient temple of Jerusalem that was destroyed by the Babylonians.
The stone is kept in a grotto at the synagogue.
Women and chil dren descend into the grotto to place eggs scrawled with wishful messages on them.
Djerba’s Jewish population is one of North Africa’s biggest, although in recent years it has shrunk to 1500, down from 100,000 in the 1960s.
AAP/TPS
