Car blast kills four in Israel city: medics, police

Four people were killed and eight injured when a vehicle exploded in the central Israeli city of Ramla on Thursday in an apparent gangland hit, medics and police said.

Liad Aviel, spokesman for the Asaf Harofe Medical Center in central Israel, said it "mourns the deaths of four individuals injured in the Ramla incident", adding that six other casualties were receiving treatment there.

The Israeli police said it had launched an investigation into the cause of the explosion which was suspected to be linked to "a criminal conflict between crime families in the Arab neighbourhood".

Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir visited the site of the explosion and said police would "continue to fight this crime with all the tools at its disposal".

"But I warn: crime in the Arab community requires more extensive tools and broader powers."

Israel's emergency medical service Magen David Adom said the vehicle "exploded while parked on the sidewalk near a store and residential building" in Ramla.

"As a result of the explosion, several passersby were injured by the blast and shrapnel," rescue worker Benny Cohen said in a statement.

"The burning car was parked next to the store entrance, which prevented people inside the store from getting out.

"We moved the injured we were treating away from the fire scene... The rescued victims were unconscious, and our teams began advanced resuscitation efforts and transported them to hospitals in critical condition."

Liat Cohen, another paramedic at the scene, said the unconscious victims included a month-old infant and a 50-year-old woman.

All suffered from smoke inhalation and were transported to hospital, he said.

"They tell us it's a settlement of personal scores, but an explosion downtown in midday in a crowded area, that's crazy," Judith Touati, a Ramla resident and mother of seven, told AFP.

"My children were there just an hour before".

Located east of Israel's commercial hub of Tel Aviv, Ramla is a mixed city, home to both Jews and Arabs.

Palestinian citizens of Israel have long complained of violence connected to organised crime and perceived Israeli government indifference towards it.

Organisations such as the Mossawa Center, a nonprofit representing Arabs in Israel, argue such violence should receive more attention from the government.