Tragedy on the Highway: Former Police Officer Assassinated in Explosive Ayalon Highway Traffic Car Bombing
A thirty-five-year-old mother and former law enforcement officer was killed instantly when a half-kilogram bomb detonated beneath her vehicle during a morning traffic jam on the Ayalon Highway. Police have detained her estranged husband as they investigate multiple potential motives for the targeted assassination.
A major thoroughfare in Tel Aviv became the scene of a fatal explosion during the morning rush hour when a car bomb detonated in heavy traffic, killing a thirty-five-year-old resident of Rishon LeZion. The victim, identified as Lya Malka Cohen, was trapped inside the vehicle as it immediately burst into flames on the Ayalon Highway near the Holon Junction. Emergency responders who rushed to the scene were unable to rescue her due to the intensity of the fire, and she was pronounced dead at the roadside.
Initial forensic analysis conducted by police bomb squads revealed that an explosive device weighing approximately half a kilogram had been meticulously attached to the vehicle. The car itself did not belong to the victim, but was registered to her brother, who has no criminal record. Law enforcement officials noted that the victim also had a clean record, making the brazen daytime assassination on one of the busiest roads in the country a high-priority case for the Central District Central Unit.
The investigation is currently pursuing multiple distinct paths to determine who ordered and executed the attack. Investigators quickly detained the victim's estranged husband for questioning, uncovering a history of domestic discord. Authorities confirmed that the victim and her family members had filed several formal complaints against him over the recent months during their ongoing divorce proceedings.
In tandem with the domestic investigation, detectives are reviewing the victim's professional background, specifically looking into her past employment as a police officer to see if the hit was connected to prior law enforcement duties. Tel Aviv District Police Commander Superintendent Haim Sargrof stated that the device was placed inside or underneath the frame to maximize the impact of the blast, and added that further definitive findings would be released as the forensic teams complete their analysis of the wreckage.
Emergency medical technicians from the Magen David Adom motorcycle unit, Neria Hagabi and Orael Tolidano, described arriving at the chaotic scene to find the vehicle engulfed in flames with the victim lying nearby, having suffered fatal blast injuries and severe burns. Passersby reported hearing a massive concussive roar before seeing the vehicle catch fire, with nearby cars sustaining minor damage from the flying shrapnel. The victim leaves behind a two-year-old daughter, and her death marks the fifth casualty attributed to explosive devices in the region within the last fortnight.