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Tzrifin Bus Stop Attack

Published

01In brief

The Tzrifin bus stop attack was a Hamas suicide bombing on September 9, 2003, at a bus stop near the Tzrifin army base that killed nine Israeli soldiers. The bomber detonated at approximately 17:45 at a hitchhiking stop outside a main entrance to the base and Assaf Harofeh Hospital. A gov.il-hosted operational report attributes the attack to the Hamas infrastructure in Ramallah that also organized the Café Hillel bombing in Jerusalem later that day. The nine victims included soldiers aged 19 to 39; the same report listed 14 wounded.

02Background

The gov.il-hosted operational report identifies Ihab ‘Abd al-Kadir Mahmoud Abu Salim as the suicide bomber and describes him as a 19-year-old resident of Rantis and a student at the Ramallah campus of the Open University.[1] It states that he was a Hamas operative who had been held in Israeli administrative detention from December 21, 2001, until March 2003.[1]

The report states that Abu Salim was recruited by Ramez Abu Salim, who subsequently carried out the Café Hillel bombing.[1] It attributes both attacks to the Hamas infrastructure in Ramallah headed by Ibrahim Hamad.[1] Bahij Badr built the explosive belts used in the Tzrifin and Café Hillel attacks.[4] Mar'i Abu Sa'ida was also a Hamas member of the cell responsible for the Tzrifin bombing and other attacks.[5]

03Course of Events

At approximately 17:45 on September 9, 2003, Abu Salim detonated his explosives at a hitchhiking stop near the IDF Tzrifin base.[1][2] The stop served soldiers and stood outside a main entrance to the army base and Assaf Harofeh Hospital.[3] Nine soldiers were killed, and 14 people were wounded.[1] Hamas claimed responsibility for the bombing.[3]

Later that evening, at approximately 23:30, another suicide bombing struck a café in Jerusalem, killing seven people.[2] This was the Café Hillel attack carried out by Ramez Abu Salim, whom the operational account also identifies as the Tzrifin bomber’s recruiter.[1]

04Aftermath

The nine soldiers killed in the Tzrifin bombing were identified by name, rank, age, and hometown in the gov.il-hosted report.[1]

  • Corporal Mazi Grego, 19, of Holon.[1]
  • Corporal Felix Nikolaichuk, 20, of Bat Yam.[1]
  • Corporal Prosper Twito, 20, of Ofer.[1]
  • Sergeant Yonatan Peleg, 19, of Moshav Yanuv.[1]
  • Sergeant Efrat Schwartzman, 19, of Moshav Ganei Yehuda.[1]
  • Sergeant Liron Siboni, 19, of Ramat Gan.[1]
  • Captain Yael Kfir, 21, of Ashkelon.[1]
  • Chief Warrant Officer Yaakov Ben Shabbat, 39, of Haifa.[1]
  • Senior Warrant Officer Haim Alfasi, 39, of Pardess Hannah.[1]

Badr partially confessed during interrogation to his role in preparing the explosive belts for the Tzrifin and Café Hillel bombings.[4] He concealed another cell, which carried out an additional attack in Tel Aviv after his arrest.[4]

05Historiography and Legacy

Captain Yael Kfir, one of the nine soldiers killed, had dreamed of becoming an astronaut.[6] Her father, Ben Kfir, recalled that she regularly called home after terrorist attacks; when she did not call after the Tzrifin bombing, he understood what had happened.[6]

Her sister, Tal Kfir Schurr, remembered speaking with Yael that afternoon and expecting to speak with her again later.[7] Schurr learned of the bombing while working at a theater box office, tried unsuccessfully to reach her sister, and subsequently received confirmation of her death from their father.[7]

Published casualty totals differ: the gov.il-hosted report lists nine dead and 14 wounded, while other compilations give eight dead and 32 wounded or nine dead and 30 wounded.[1][3][8] A later news retrospective gives nine dead and 18 injured.[9] The nine-name victim list in the gov.il-hosted report provides the basis for the death toll used here.[1]

Sources

  1. 1Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, report hosted on gov.il, accessed on November 9, 2026.
  2. 2Jewish Virtual Library, Trends in Palestinian Terrorism: 2003 Terrorism Review, accessed on November 9, 2026.
  3. 3Jewish Virtual Library, Comprehensive Listing of Terrorism Victims in Israel, accessed on November 9, 2026.
  4. 4Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, The Danger of Releasing Terrorist Mass Murderers, accessed on November 9, 2026.
  5. 5Palestinian Media Watch, The names and crimes of 80 dangerous terrorist murderers being released by Israel | PMW Analysis, accessed on November 9, 2026.
  6. 6Ynetnews, 2nd intifada: Decade on, bereaved families try to live with pain, accessed on November 9, 2026.
  7. 7The Jerusalem Post, Israelis-Palestinians to honor dead at virtual Memorial Day Ceremony, accessed on November 9, 2026.
  8. 8Jewish Virtual Library, Casualties in Suicide and Other Bombing Attacks in Israel Since the Declaration of Principles, accessed on November 9, 2026.
  9. 9Israel Hayom, NGO: PA raises salaries of bomb makers behind deadly 2003 attacks, accessed on November 9, 2026.

IsraelPedia Question & Answers

  • What was the Tzrifin bus stop attack?

    The Tzrifin bus stop attack was a Hamas suicide bombing on September 9, 2003, at a bus stop near the Tzrifin army base. It killed nine Israeli soldiers and wounded 14 people, according to a gov.il-hosted operational report.

  • Who carried out the Tzrifin bus stop bombing, and who organized it?

    Ihab ‘Abd al-Kadir Mahmoud Abu Salim carried out the Tzrifin bus stop bombing. The operational report attributes it to the Hamas infrastructure in Ramallah headed by Ibrahim Hamad, and says Abu Salim was recruited by Ramez Abu Salim, who later carried out the Café Hillel bombing.

  • What happened in the Café Hillel bombing later that day?

    At approximately 23:30 on September 9, 2003, a suicide bombing struck a café in Jerusalem, killing seven people. Ramez Abu Salim carried out the attack; the operational account identifies him as the recruiter of the Tzrifin bomber.

  • Who were the nine soldiers killed in the Tzrifin bus stop attack?

    The nine soldiers were Corporal Mazi Grego, Corporal Felix Nikolaichuk, Corporal Prosper Twito, Sergeant Yonatan Peleg, Sergeant Efrat Schwartzman, Sergeant Liron Siboni, Captain Yael Kfir, Chief Warrant Officer Yaakov Ben Shabbat, and Senior Warrant Officer Haim Alfasi. The report lists their ages as 19, 20, 20, 19, 19, 19, 21, 39, and 39, respectively.

  • Why do reported casualty totals for the Tzrifin bus stop attack differ?

    Published casualty totals for the Tzrifin bus stop attack differ across accounts. The gov.il-hosted report lists nine dead and 14 wounded, while other compilations give eight dead and 32 wounded or nine dead and 30 wounded; a later news retrospective gives nine dead and 18 injured. The nine-name victim list in the gov.il-hosted report provides the basis for the death toll used in the article.