Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live At Daybreak
Suicide Bombing in Israel
Aired January 14, 2004 - 05:01 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Well, it was a young woman who strapped on explosives in this morning's suicide bombing in Israel.
Let's take you live to Jerusalem right now and John Vause to find out exactly what happened -- good morning, John.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Carol.
Well, the blast happened at the busy Erez crossing. That's the main border crossing from the Gaza Strip into Israel. Now, it had been opened, allowing thousands of Palestinian laborers to cross into Israel for day jobs.
Now, according to witnesses at the scene, they say the suicide bomber was a woman. She had been limping as she approached the head of the line to make the crossing from Gaza into Israel and she'd brushed off any officers of help. And as she approached the metal detector, the Israelis -- it set off the metal detector. The Israeli soldiers called her out and that's when she set off the explosives, killing four Israelis and wounding 10 others.
Israeli military sources say four Palestinians are among the wounded, although there were very few Palestinians at the crossing at the time of the blast because most had already made the crossing into Israel hours earlier.
The Erez crossing is now closed and the Israeli Army commander at the border crossing has told CNN that this blast will harm cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians and it will affect the livelihoods of 20,000 Palestinians who cross into Israel every day.
Two Palestinian militant groups have claimed joint responsibility for this blast. The Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades and Hamas says this was, in fact, a joint operation and Hamas has identified the suicide bomber as a 21-year-old woman from Gaza City -- Carol.
COSTELLO: And we're getting word from Reuters that this is the first time Hamas has used a female suicide bomber. And it says here, because apparently they interviewed someone from Hamas, Reuters did, that they're going to use more female suicide bombers in the future.
VAUSE: Well, the use of female suicide bombers is not uncommon. It has happened in the past. The blast in Haifa in early October, which left 21 people dead, or more than 20 people dead, rather, was, in fact, a suicide bomber, as well, from the West Bank.
What is unusual about the suicide bombers coming out of Gaza is that those suicide bombers have not -- haven't actually carried out any attacks in Israel proper. The Erez crossing itself, though, has often been the target of attacks by pmts in the past. But certainly suicide -- female suicide bombers by other groups, like Al Aksa and Islamic Jihad, certainly are not uncommon -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Understand.
John Vause reporting live from Jerusalem this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired January 14, 2004 - 05:01 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Well, it was a young woman who strapped on explosives in this morning's suicide bombing in Israel.
Let's take you live to Jerusalem right now and John Vause to find out exactly what happened -- good morning, John.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Carol.
Well, the blast happened at the busy Erez crossing. That's the main border crossing from the Gaza Strip into Israel. Now, it had been opened, allowing thousands of Palestinian laborers to cross into Israel for day jobs.
Now, according to witnesses at the scene, they say the suicide bomber was a woman. She had been limping as she approached the head of the line to make the crossing from Gaza into Israel and she'd brushed off any officers of help. And as she approached the metal detector, the Israelis -- it set off the metal detector. The Israeli soldiers called her out and that's when she set off the explosives, killing four Israelis and wounding 10 others.
Israeli military sources say four Palestinians are among the wounded, although there were very few Palestinians at the crossing at the time of the blast because most had already made the crossing into Israel hours earlier.
The Erez crossing is now closed and the Israeli Army commander at the border crossing has told CNN that this blast will harm cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians and it will affect the livelihoods of 20,000 Palestinians who cross into Israel every day.
Two Palestinian militant groups have claimed joint responsibility for this blast. The Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades and Hamas says this was, in fact, a joint operation and Hamas has identified the suicide bomber as a 21-year-old woman from Gaza City -- Carol.
COSTELLO: And we're getting word from Reuters that this is the first time Hamas has used a female suicide bomber. And it says here, because apparently they interviewed someone from Hamas, Reuters did, that they're going to use more female suicide bombers in the future.
VAUSE: Well, the use of female suicide bombers is not uncommon. It has happened in the past. The blast in Haifa in early October, which left 21 people dead, or more than 20 people dead, rather, was, in fact, a suicide bomber, as well, from the West Bank.
What is unusual about the suicide bombers coming out of Gaza is that those suicide bombers have not -- haven't actually carried out any attacks in Israel proper. The Erez crossing itself, though, has often been the target of attacks by pmts in the past. But certainly suicide -- female suicide bombers by other groups, like Al Aksa and Islamic Jihad, certainly are not uncommon -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Understand.
John Vause reporting live from Jerusalem this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
