Non-fatal injuries 50+ Israelis Location Tel Aviv, Israel | Start date February 25, 2005 Attack type Suicide attack | |
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Deaths 5 Israelis (+ 1 bomber) Perpetrators Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility | ||
The Stage Club bombing was a terrorist attack which occurred on February 25, 2005 in which a Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up outside the "Stage" beachfront nightclub in Tel Aviv, Israel, killing 5 people and injuring 50.
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The Palestinian militant organization Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.
The attack
On Friday, 25 February 2005, at 11:30 pm, a Palestinian suicide bomber wearing hidden explosives attached to his body, detonated himself in a crowd of young Israelis who were waiting outside a beachfront nightclub near the promenade of Tel Aviv. The blast killed five people and injured more than 50.
Most of the victims belonged to an Israeli army reserve unit that was planning to celebrate the birthday of one of its officers at the nightclub.
"We're a small and very 'together' unit," later said Yaron Greivsky, whose 30th birthday was the reason for the surprise gathering. "We're the kind who smile when we're called up for reserve service. All of us have been in dangerous places, we've been in Lebanon, Gaza, Hebron, all over. No one was ever hurt. And then a terrorist comes to the middle of Tel Aviv, where it's supposed to be the safest, and destroys everything."
The perpetrators
The Palestinian militant organization Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack. After the attack the Al-Jazeera network released a video which showed the 21-year-old suicide bomber Abdullah Badran who stated that he carried out the attack in revenge for Israel's actions in West Bank and the Gaza Strip.