Two people were killed in a suspected “rolling terror attack” in northern Israel on Friday, authorities said.

The attack began in Beit Shean, where a pedestrian was run over, killing 68-year-old Shimshon Mordechai and injuring a 16-year-old boy. The assailant then drove approximately 8 miles (12.5 km) west to Ein Harod, where he stabbed 18-year-old Aviv Maor.

The suspect, a 37-year-old man from Qabatiya in the northern West Bank, was eventually shot and wounded by a civilian outside the city of Afula. According to Israeli authorities, he had entered Israel illegally several days ago and reportedly used his employer’s vehicle to carry out the attack.

Israeli Response

• IDF Action: The Israel Defense Forces said they are preparing an operation in the suspect’s home area of Qabatiya. Defence Minister Israel Katz instructed the army to act “forcefully and immediately.”
• Government Statement: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed deep condolences to the victims’ families and praised the civilian who neutralized the attacker.

The attack follows a separate incident a day earlier, when an Israeli army reservist was fired after video showed him ramming a praying Palestinian with a quad bike in the West Bank.

Context

• Violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians has increased in the West Bank in recent years.
• The UN reports that more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed since the Hamas attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023, which killed about 1,200 Israelis and led to 251 abductions into Gaza.
• According to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, more than 70,600 people have died in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then.