Terrorist attacks were carried out on two No. 18 buses on Jaffa Road in Jerusalem, in 1996. Hamas suicide bombers killed 45 people in the attacks, which were masterminded by Mohammed Deif, using explosives prepared by Adnan Awul. These two bombings, within a few days of each other, occurred during a Hamas offensive launched after the killing of Yahya Ayyash, which also included the French Hill neighborhood attack, a suicide bombing in Ashkelon, and a terrorist attack near Dizengoff Center in Tel Aviv.
The attack aftermath
Commemorative plaque for the victims of the first bus bombing
Commemorative plaque for those who were killed in the second bombing
Jaffa Road, also called Jaffa Street is one of the longest and oldest major streets in Jerusalem. It crosses the city from east to west, from the Old City walls to downtown Jerusalem, the western portal of Jerusalem and the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway. It is lined with shops, businesses, and restaurants. It joins with Ben Yehuda Street and King George Street to form the Downtown Triangle central business district. Major landmarks along Jaffa Road are Tzahal Square, Safra Square, Zion Square, Davidka Square, the triple intersection (Hameshulash) at King George V Street and Straus Street, the Ben Yehuda Street pedestrian mall, the Mahane Yehuda market, and the Jerusalem Central Bus Station. Jaffa Road has been redeveloped as a car-free pedestrian mall served by the Jerusalem Light Rail, as well as by the Jerusalem–Yitzhak Navon railway station directly adjacent to the Central Bus Station.
Jaffa road Jerusalem
Reflective street sign commemorating Jaffa as the "port city of Jerusalem in ancient times"
Jaffa Road after 1907
A mural on Jaffa Road depicting artist's vision of the Jerusalem Light Rail in operation.