Mispallelim at a shul in south Tel Aviv experienced a huge neis on Sunday evening when a powerful explosive device in the knapsack of a suicide bomber walking by the shul prematurely exploded, killing the man and wounding a passerby.

There were 80 mispallelim davening Maariv in the shul when the bomb exploded. The building was rocked by the explosion but b’chasdei Hashem, no one was injured as the device exploded as the terrorist was passing by a truck, which absorbed most of the explosion.

Security officials believe that the suicide bomber was on his way to detonate the bomb in a crowded area, such as the shopping area about 100 meters from the shul, where numerous cafes and stores are located.

Chaim Bublil, Police chief of the Ayalon District in Tel Aviv, said; “It was a neis that it didn’t explode in the nearby shul or shopping center. It could have ended in dozens of deaths.”

Israeli security officials have identified the suicide bomber, a man in his 50s, as a Palestinian resident of Shechem. On Monday, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) claimed responsibility for the attack and Hamas threatened that suicide bombings will continue.

Leonid, 33, was passing by the scene on an electric scooter was moderately injured by shrapnel from the blast. He was treated at the scene and evacuated to Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv.

He told Ynet from his hospital bed: “I was riding my scooter home from work. Suddenly, there was a huge explosion and I was thrown off my scooter. There was a lot of fire, and I was right in the middle of it. It felt like a scene from a movie—a massive explosion, and I was in the center of the flames. The doctors at the hospital have told me several times that I’m lucky to be alive, with just a few shrapnel wounds.”

Dr. Eyal Hashavia, the head of the surgical trauma unit at Ichilov, said that shrapenl punctured Leonid’s lung. “He will undergo surgery but is expected to make a full and speedy recovery.”

The moments of the explosion:

The footage below shows the suicide bomber walking with a knapsack on his back holding the explosive device minutes before the explosion:

The shul next to the site of the attack:

In the Beis Medrash of the shul:

A Tel Aviv municipality worker told Ynet: “There was a Mincha and Maariv tefillah here in a building that holds 120 people. The explosion occurred in the middle of Maariv while there were at least 80 people in the shul on the first floor alone. If he would have entered the shul…a great neis happened here.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)