The attack occurred on 21 March 1997, on the eve of the Purim holiday, at around 13:40, when a Palestinian suicide bomber detonated an explosive device which was concealed in a handbag in the entrance to the coffee shop "Apropo" in Tel Aviv.

[1] The assailant has been identified as Musa Abd al-Qadir Ghanimat from the West Bank village of Surif.

[2] It was believed at least at some point during the investigations that the assailant had no intention to die as a suicide bomber, but that the timing device misfired.

[3] Following the attack, the Israeli Military Intelligence Directorate found for the first time clear evidence which proved that the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was encouraging and initiating militant attacks on Israeli civilians within Israel in order to advance the negotiations with Israel.

In January 2015, the child from the photograph, since identified as Shani Winter, joined the Israeli Defense Forces, accompanied by the same traffic policewoman who carried her in the photo.