A Palestinian man killed two people in a combined stabbing and car-ramming attack in northern Israel on Friday, Israeli authorities said, prompting the military to launch an operation in the assailant’s home village in the occupied West Bank.
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Israeli police said the attack began in the city of Beit Shean, where a pedestrian was run over by a vehicle. The victim, a 68-year-old man, later died of his injuries, according to emergency services.
The assailant then drove on and stabbed a young woman multiple times after exiting the vehicle near the Maonot Junction in Afula, police said. She also succumbed to her wounds. A 16-year-old was slightly injured after being struck by the vehicle during the attack.
A terror attack near Beit Shean in northern Israel, involved a vehicle-ramming and stabbing that killed at least two people, a 68-year-old man and a 19-year-old woman, before the terrorist was eliminated by security forces near Afula. pic.twitter.com/pIo7bYs189
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The suspect, identified as a 34-year-old resident of the West Bank town of Qabatiya, was shot by a civilian at the scene and taken to hospital. Israeli police said he had entered Israel several days earlier and had used his employer’s vehicle during the assault, adding that the employer had been detained for questioning.
President Isaac Herzog condemned what he described as a “horrific killing spree”, while Defence Minister Israel Katz ordered the military to act “forcefully and immediately” against Qabatiya, from where the attacker originated.
The Israeli army later said troops had entered the town, searched the attacker’s home and were preparing for possible demolition of the residence. Palestinian news agency Wafa reported arrests, the imposition of a curfew and house searches in the area.
Hamas said the attack reflected rising Palestinian anger over Israeli actions in the West Bank and Gaza. The incident came amid heightened tensions following the killing of a Palestinian teenager in Qabatiya earlier this week, an incident now under Israeli military investigation.
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Violence has surged since the war in Gaza erupted in October 2023, with repeated attacks inside Israel and intensified Israeli military operations across the West Bank.