Palestinian man kills two in car and knife attack in northern Israel

A Palestinian man killed two Israelis in a car-ramming and stabbing attack in northern Israel on Friday, authorities said.

The assault began Friday afternoon in Beit She'an, where the attacker drove into pedestrians, killing a 68-year-old man and injuring a teenage boy.

He then drove onto a highway and fatally stabbed a 19-year-old woman, police said. Paramedics declared both victims dead at the scene.

The two victims have been identified as 19-year-old Aviv Maor from Kibbutz Ein Harod, who was stabbed to death near a bus stop on Route 71 apparently while attempting to hitchhike, and Mordechai Shimshon, 68, from Beit She’an, a city near the West Bank’s northern border.

A security officer shot the attacker as he headed towards the nearby city of Afula, Israeli President Isaac Herzog said. The attacker was in stable condition, according to Israeli media outlets.

Herzog said he was shocked by the "horrific killing spree" and pledged Israel would reinforce security along what he described as a challenging border area.

Israeli forces subsequently gathered near the Palestinian town of Qabatiya, identified by Defence Minister Israel Katz as the attacker's place of origin.

Katz ordered troops to act "forcefully and immediately" against what he termed terrorist infrastructure in the town. "Anyone who aids or sponsors terrorism will pay the full price," he said.

The Israel-Hamas war in Gaza has triggered escalating violence in Israel and the occupied West Bank, including increased attacks by Palestinian militants.

In September, Palestinian attackers opened fire at a Jerusalem bus stop during morning rush hour, killing six people and wounding 12, according to Israeli officials.

Just one month before, attackers carried out a car-ramming and stabbing assault at the Gush Etzion junction in the West Bank, killing a 71-year-old Israeli man and wounding three others. Israeli soldiers shot dead the assailants, whose vehicle reportedly contained explosive materials.

In February 2024, a Palestinian gunman killed two Israeli civilians and injured four others in Kiryat Malakhi. The shooter was killed by an off-duty Israeli reservist at the scene.