Jerusalem explosions kill teenager, injure at least 18 people

Reuters:  A pair of explosions in Jerusalem killed one person and injured at least 18 others Tuesday morning, Israeli police said. The two blasts were reportedly detonated at 7 a.m. — the height of the city's rush hour.

The person killed was 16-year-old Canadian yeshiva student Aryeh Shechopek, Israeli media reported.

One explosion occurred near a bus stop on the outskirts of Jerusalem, while the other was believed to have been in Ramot, a settlement in the north of the city. According to the Jerusalem Post, the explosive devices were left in bags and left at both bus terminals.

People look at the scene of an explosion at a bus stop in Jerusalem. (Mahmoud Illean/AP)

The U.S. Embassy in Israel condemned the “terrorist attacks” in the city and offered condolences to the families of those killed and injured. “We are closely monitoring the situation,” the embassy tweeted. “Terrorism is a dead-end that accomplishes absolutely nothing.”

The explosions follow at least one clash the night before in the Israeli-occupied West Bank in the Palestinian territories. A nighttime raid conducted by Israeli forces ended with the death of a 16-year-old Palestinian, Palestine’s health ministry stated. According to the ministry, Israeli forces had fired a bullet that hit teenager Ahmed Shehada in the chest. Four others were said to be wounded in the raid.

Members of Zaka Rescue and Recovery team clean blood from the scene of an explosion at a bus stop in Jerusalem. (Maya Alleruzzo/AP)

“This is my son, when he heard that the occupation forces are raiding the area, his friends took him with them and gave him a gun,” Ahmed’s father, Amjad, said, according to Reuters. “He went with them to resist and now he is near God."

Tensions between the Palestinian territories and Israel have increased in recent years; a weeklong conflict left hundreds dead in 2021. The West Bank has been occupied by Israel since 1967 after the Six-Day War.