Foreign Ministry confirms: Israelis among wounded in Istanbul suicide bombing Turkish Islamist party official fired for controversial anti-Israel tweet
Earlier on Saturday, there were unconfirmed reports that three Israelis had died in the blast.
0Turkish authorities confirmed on Saturday that one of the Israelis wounded in the suicide bombing in a bustling tourist district of Istanbuldied in the attack.
The Magen David Adom rescue service also said on Saturday that one Israeli was confirmed dead, although the Foreign Ministry has yet to verify the report.
Earlier on Saturday, there were unconfirmed reports that two other Israelis had died in the blast.
Thus far, five people have been confirmed killed and at least 36 others were wounded. A Foreign Ministry spokesperson told Channel 2 that 11 of the wounded are Israelis.
Six Israeli were lightly wounded and two were moderately. Two suffered serious injuries and one is currently in emergency surgery at a Turkish hospital.
The Israelis were rushed to four different hospitals in the area.
Foreign Ministry officials are trying to make contact with six Israelis who were believed to have been in the vicinity of the blast and have not made contact with relevant authorities.
The blast sent panicked shoppers scurrying into side alleys off Istiklal Street, a long pedestrian avenue lined with international stores and foreign consulates, a few hundred meters from where police buses are often stationed.
The attack will raise further questions about NATO member Turkey's ability to protect itself against a spillover of violence from the war in neighboring Syria.
Turkey faces threats from Kurdish militants, whose insurgency has spread from the largely Kurdish southeast and who Ankara sees as closely linked to a Kurdish militia in Syria, and from Islamic State fighters, who have also recently targeted it.
Germany shut down its diplomatic missions and schools on Thursday, citing a specific threat. Meanwhile, U.S. and other European embassies had warned their citizens to be vigilant ahead of Newroz celebrations this weekend, a spring festival largely marked by Kurds which has turned violent in the past.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing, which two senior officials said could have been carried out by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), fighting for Kurdish autonomy in the southeast, or by an Islamic State militant.
Eze Afrika
