TEL AVIV (voa) – Twenty people have been killed in a suicide bombing at a hotel in the northern Israeli coastal town of Netanya. More than 100 others were wounded by the blast late Wednesday.
The explosion ripped through a sea-side hotel north of Tel Aviv as scores of guests were waiting to enter a dining hall for the ritual meal (seder) that marks the start of the week-long Jewish holiday of Passover.
Israeli television showed police and ambulances streaming to the blast site while bloodied blast victims staggered out of the wrecked building. The explosion blew out walls on the ground floor and almost completely destroyed the hotel lobby.
The Israeli government has labeled the attack the “Passover massacre.” Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s office says the attack shows that Palestinian leaders have no intention of reaching a U.S.-backed ceasefire ending 18 months of escalating fighting in the region.
Israeli officials say Mr. Sharon held late Wednesday talks with top security officials regarding a possible response.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan described the attack as “morally repugnant.” The Palestinian Authority condemned the attack and vowed to take action against any Palestinian group involved. The Islamic militant group Hamas has claimed responsibility.
Netanya was the target of an attack earlier this month in which Palestinian militants killed an Israeli woman and an Arab-Israeli before they themselves were killed by police
