Two people were killed and at least one other was wounded on Friday in what Israeli police described as a “rolling terror attack” across multiple locations in northern Israel, heightening security concerns amid ongoing regional tensions.
Police said the assailant first carried out a vehicle-ramming attack in the city of Beit Shean, killing a 68-year-old man and injuring a 16-year-old boy. The attacker then drove west toward the Ein Harod area, where he stabbed and killed an 18-year-old woman, according to emergency services and police officials.
The suspect was later shot and wounded by an armed civilian near the city of Afula, bringing the attack to an end, police said.
Israel’s defense minister said the attacker was a 37-year-old man from the village of Qabatiya in the northern occupied West Bank. In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the suspect had entered Israeli territory several days earlier.
Following the attack, Defense Minister Israel Katz said he instructed the IDF to act “forcefully and immediately” in the Qabatiya area. The military later confirmed it was preparing an operation there, signaling a possible escalation in security activity in the northern West Bank.
Israel’s Kan News broadcaster reported that the suspect had been working in Israel without a permit and allegedly used a vehicle belonging to his employer during the attack. Authorities have not publicly detailed how the suspect evaded detection after crossing into Israel.
Police said the investigation remains ongoing as security forces review the suspect’s movements and possible assistance networks.
The violence came just one day after a separate and unrelated incident in the occupied West Bank, in which an Israeli army reservist was filmed driving a quad bike into a Palestinian man who was praying on the roadside.
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The Israeli military said the reservist, who was dressed in civilian clothing and carrying a firearm, had earlier opened fire in a nearby village. Following the release of the video, the soldier was dismissed from service and his weapon was confiscated. Reports said the Palestinian victim was not seriously injured.
The proximity of the two incidents has drawn renewed attention to rising violence in and around the West Bank, where tensions have sharply increased over the past year.
According to the United Nations, attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians have surged in recent years, particularly since the Hamas-led assault on Israel on October 7, 2023. About 1,200 people were killed in that attack, and 251 were taken hostage into Gaza, Israeli authorities say.
Since then, Israeli military operations in Gaza have killed more than 70,600 people, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry. The conflict has also coincided with a rise in deadly incidents in the West Bank and inside Israel, including shootings, stabbings, and vehicle-ramming attacks.
Israeli officials say security operations are aimed at preventing further attacks, while rights groups and international organizations have warned of the growing humanitarian and security fallout.
