A Palestinian attacker fatally stabbed two individuals and injured two others in a spree in central Israel on Sunday before being shot dead by police, according to Israeli authorities.
The Magen David Adom emergency service reported that the “terrorist attack” occurred in multiple locations within Holon, a southern suburb of Tel Aviv, Israel’s commercial hub.
“This was a complex and difficult terrorist attack, with the victims located in three different places, around 500 metres (yards) from each other,” Magen David Adom stated.
The stabbings happened during the morning rush hour in Holon, just outside Tel Aviv. The attacker targeted people near a gas station and a park, as reported by Israel’s ambulance service.
Two senior citizens, a man and a woman, were killed, and two others were wounded and rushed to the hospital, medical officials confirmed.
“The terrorist was quickly neutralized by one of our officers at the scene and prevented him from carrying out an even worse attack,“ police spokesperson Eli Levi said on Israel’s Channel 12.
“Large police forces are present at the scene and are conducting extensive searches with a helicopter and additional resources,“ according to a police statement.
The stabbing suspect, from the West Bank, was “neutralised” by a police officer who arrived at the scene, the force said in a statement without further details.
The Shamir Medical Centre reported the assailant was pronounced dead shortly after being taken to the hospital near Holon in critical condition.
A 66-year-old woman and a man around 80 years old were severely injured and died from their wounds shortly after the attack, according to the Wolfson hospital in the city.
Israeli news website Ynet indicated that the pair, whose ages Magen David Adom earlier listed as 70, were married.
Two other men were wounded, the emergency service noted.
A 68-year-old man was in serious condition, while a 26-year-old man sustained moderate injuries.
This incident occurs amid heightened tensions in Israel and the broader Middle East, nearly ten months into the Israel-Hamas conflict in the Gaza Strip.
