Seven fragmentation grenades were thrown at businesses and residential buildings across Israel from Monday night through Tuesday morning, including two attacks on branches of the Japanika restaurant chain.
One person was lightly wounded in Tel Aviv, while the other incidents caused property damage but no injuries. Police had not announced any arrests as of Tuesday morning.
Sushi restaurant chain targeted in wave of grenade attacks across Israel
The attacks began at two separate locations in Tel Aviv before explosions were reported in Herzliya and Ness Ziona. Later in the night, grenades were thrown at Japanika branches in Afula and Netanya, both of which caught fire. A further grenade attack was reported Tuesday morning at a residential building in Rishon LeZion.
Police suspect the wave of explosions may be connected to a dispute involving the Mosli and Jarushi crime families. Some Japanika branches in central Israel are operated by franchisees allegedly linked to the families.
The Mosli family, which emerged from Tel Aviv’s Hatikva neighborhood and Kfar Shalem, is regarded as one of Israel’s most powerful criminal organizations. The organization is headed by brothers Yossi and Eli Mosli, both considered police targets and suspected of involvement in cryptocurrency and private lending.
The first explosion occurred Monday night on Mahal Street in Tel Aviv, where police believe a fragmentation grenade detonated and lightly wounded one person. At around the same time, another explosion was heard on Street 4586 in southern Tel Aviv, where a second grenade is suspected to have exploded without causing injuries. Officers from the Tel Aviv South station and district bomb disposal experts searched both scenes and collected evidence. Police said both incidents were criminally motivated.
A short time later, an explosion at an intersection in central Herzliya caused minor property damage but no injuries. Police opened an investigation into the suspected use of an explosive device and said the incident also appeared to be criminally motivated. An unexploded grenade had been found on the same street earlier Monday.
In Ness Ziona, a stolen military fragmentation grenade was allegedly thrown at an apartment building on Tamar Street. No one was injured, but the building sustained damage. Police from the Rehovot station collected evidence and said their initial assessment was that the attack was connected to a criminal dispute. On Tuesday morning, another stolen military fragmentation grenade was thrown at a residential building on Jerusalem Street in Rishon Lezion. No injuries were reported, though property was damaged.
The Mosli brothers
(Photo: Moti Kimchi, Nadav Abas, Yariv Katz)
Police are also investigating a series of attacks against Japanika restaurants. Grenades were thrown overnight at branches in Afula’s industrial zone and Netanya, sparking fires at both locations. Three other branches had been attacked over the previous three nights: an attempt was made to set fire to the chain’s Givatayim branch, an explosive device was thrown at a branch in Ramat Gan and a fragmentation grenade was hurled at a restaurant in Kiryat Ono. No injuries were reported in those incidents, though property was damaged.
Japanika is owned by businessman Barak Abramov’s Landora Group and operates 44 branches across Israel. The restaurant chain recently entered a partnership with Leumi Partners.
Days of fear
The grenade attacks follow several other recent explosions at residential buildings. During the night between Sunday and Monday, a masked person was filmed arriving in a black car on Hermon Street in Or Yehuda’s Beit BaPark neighborhood, getting out, throwing a fragmentation grenade at a residential building and fleeing seconds before the explosion. Property was damaged, but no one was injured. Police opened an investigation, though no suspects have been arrested.
Between Friday and Saturday, a grenade also exploded in the lobby of a building in the luxury Blue residential complex in northern Tel Aviv, near the Mandarin Hotel. The blast caused damage and alarm among residents but no injuries. Investigators collected security camera footage in an effort to identify the attacker.
Police have gathered surveillance footage from the scenes, while bomb disposal experts have transferred remnants of the explosive devices and grenades for examination. Investigators are trying to identify both the attackers and those who sent them, and to determine whether the unusual sequence of attacks is part of a broader conflict between criminal organizations. No arrests have been reported.