'People didn't understand what was happening'

"There were about 70 people from abroad there, who've never experienced terror before. They stood there looking around, not understanding what's going on. Suddenly we heard screams," described Eddie Azran, who was present during the shooting attack at Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter on Friday.

Dichter's personal assistant was lightly to moderately injured by gunshots fired by Palestinians at the minister's entourage visiting the Nizmit hill near Kibbutz Nir Am in southern Israel.

Azran is the local representative of the Canada-Israel Committee (CIC) in Sderot. He accompanied a group of tourists who visited the area with Dichter, and was also the first person to tend to Mati Gil, the minister's assistant who was wounded in the attack.

According to Azran, the shooting began while Dichter was talking with the Canadian visitors. "The minister gave them a security briefing – what's going on in Gaza and Israel. Towards the end of the explanation we heard gunshots… bullets started whistling around us. We immediately rushed the people to the portable shelters located at the place."

Azran said that Gil "was lying right next to the bus. After the army started shooting back, I ran to the car and took out the first aid kit. I saw that he sustained a nasty wound… but he was fully conscious. Dichter spoke to him and was totally involved."

Abu Ubaida, a spokesman for Hamas' military wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, said Friday afternoon that the internal security minister was the target of the attack.