Terrorist attack leaves at least two dead in Israel

“Preliminary investigation indicates that this was a terrorist attack that began in the city of Beit She’an, where a pedestrian was run over. Subsequently, a young woman was stabbed near Highway 71,” a police statement said, adding that the suspect in the attack was shot shortly after in Afula by a pedestrian and taken to hospital in moderate condition.

Just before 12:30 a.m. in Beit She’an, Israeli emergency teams from Magen David Adom (MDA) provided medical care and unsuccessfully attempted to revive a 68-year-old man who had been run over. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

On a nearby street, another paramedic found a teenager sitting inside a vehicle, conscious and with minor injuries. According to witnesses, he had also been run over by a vehicle that fled the scene. The teenager was taken by ambulance to the hospital, the same emergency service reported.

A few kilometers away, at the Highway 71 intersection near Kibbutz Ein Harod, an 18-year-old woman was pronounced dead after suffering penetrating injuries consistent with a stab wound, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the police’s preliminary investigation.

At 12:45 pm, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was informed of another person injured at the entrance to Afula, who was taken to hospital in a stable condition. According to police, the alleged attacker — originally from Qabatiya, in the West Bank — was shot by a civilian who was passing by and remains hospitalized.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent his condolences this Friday to the families of the two Israelis killed in the north of the country during the terrorist attack.

“My wife Sara and I send our deepest condolences to the families of those who died in the joint attack in northern Israel, the late Aviv Maor, aged 17, and the late Shimshon Mordechai, aged 68,” said a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office.

In an initial statement, Israeli emergency services had identified the first victim as an 18-year-old, not 17.

“We wish a speedy recovery to the injured and support the heroic citizen who neutralized the terrorist,” Netanyahu added in the statement.