An Islamic Jihad suicide bomber Friday night killed three men and a woman and injured more than 50 others at a Tel Aviv nightclub on the boardwalk near the beach.

Three of the injured are in serious condition.

Three of the victims have been identified: Yitzhak Buzaglo, 40, from Moshav HaYarden, whose wife Linda was hospitalized in serious condition; Yael Auerbach, 28 from Rehovot, who was to have been married in two weeks; and Aryeh Nagar, from Kfar Saba. Auerbach’s fiance was hospitalized in moderate condition.

Most of the victims belonged to an Israeli army reserve unit which was planning to celebrate the birthday of one of its officer’s at the nightclub. “It was a surprise party for our sergeant-major,” said Eitan Hait, one if the reservists. “We were all standing outside laughing and smiling when suddenly I felt darkness sweep over me.”

The Palestinian Authority (PA) blamed the attack on Hezbollah terrorists allied with Iran, but Israeli defense forces said the terrorists came from a Tulkarm gang backed by Syrian terrorists. Islamic Jihad aired a video tape prepared before the attack and said its objective was to disrupt the PA.

The suicide bomber was killed in the suicide blast, and police are investigating whether a second man was involved. Guards spotted two suspects outside the nightclub. The suicide bomber detonated his charge and the other man ran away.

Police and army units were put on high alert throughout the country, and Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz and security officials met in an emergency session Saturday night. The government decided to limit offensive maneuvers while giving PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) a chance to act against terrorists’ infrastructure.

Tulkarm is located about five miles east of Tel Aviv and is one of the first cities where security was slated to become the full responsibility of the PA after a scheduled withdrawal of all IDF forces. In a reaction to the suicide bombing, Israel announced Saturday night it is freezing the plan.

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 27th, 2005 and is filed under hotnews.