Palestinian Attack Kills Two, Sparks Israeli Military Operation

GAZA: A Palestinian man carried out a stabbing and car-ramming attack in northern Israel on Friday, killing two people and slightly injuring a teenager. The incident prompted Israeli forces to launch a military operation in the attacker’s hometown in the occupied West Bank.

Israeli police said the assault began in the city of Beit Shean, where a 68-year-old pedestrian was run over. The attacker then continued to Afula, where he stabbed a young woman near the Maonot Junction before being shot by security forces following intervention by a civilian. The assailant was taken to hospital, but both victims later died from their injuries, according to Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency service. A 16-year-old was also injured after being struck by a vehicle.

Authorities identified the attacker as a 34-year-old resident of Qabatiya in the West Bank. Police said he had entered Israeli territory several days earlier and used his employer’s vehicle to carry out the attack. The attacker’s employer has been detained for questioning.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog condemned the incident, calling it a “horrific killing spree.” Defence Minister Israel Katz ordered immediate military action against Qabatiya, directing forces to dismantle what he described as “terror infrastructure” in the village.

The Israeli military later confirmed that troops had begun operations in Qabatiya, searching the attacker’s home and preparing for its demolition. Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that Israeli forces detained several residents and imposed a curfew in the area.

The attack came amid escalating violence linked to the ongoing war in Gaza, which began after Hamas’ October 7, 2023, assault on Israel. Since then, multiple attacks by Palestinians inside Israel have resulted in dozens of deaths.

The incident occurred just days after Israeli soldiers fatally shot a Palestinian teenager in the Qabatiya area. The military has opened an investigation following the emergence of footage suggesting the teenager posed no immediate threat, contradicting earlier claims that he had attacked troops.

Read more: Israeli Defence Minister Katz Vows Presence in Gaza

It also followed an incident a day earlier in which an Israeli military reservist, dressed in civilian clothes, rammed his vehicle into a Palestinian man in the West Bank, an act captured in videos circulating on social media.

Hamas described Friday’s attack as a response to what it called ongoing Israeli crimes against Palestinians. France condemned the incident in strong terms and expressed solidarity with Israel against terrorism.

Since the start of the Gaza war, at least 38 people, including two foreign nationals, have been killed inside Israel in Palestinian attacks, according to official Israeli figures. During the same period, violence in the West Bank has intensified, with more than 1,000 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces and settlers, including militants and civilians, according to Palestinian health ministry data. Israeli authorities report that at least 44 Israelis—both civilians and soldiers—have been killed in attacks or military operations in the West Bank during this time.