Two people have been killed after a suspected "rolling terror attack" across northern Israel on Friday.
The assault began in the eastern city of Beit Shean, where a 68-year-old pedestrian was struck by a vehicle and fatally injured.
The attacker then travelled approximately eight miles westward before stabbing an 18-year-old woman near the kibbutz of Ein Harod.
Israel's emergency service provider Magen David Adom confirmed both victims died as a result of their injuries.
Beyond the two fatalities, Magen David Adom reported that a 16-year-old teenager sustained minor injuries after being struck by the vehicle during the initial ramming incident in Beit Shean.
The deceased were later revealed to be 68-year-old Shimshon Mordechai and 17-year-old Aviv Maor.
Israeli authorities identified the suspect as a 37-year-old Palestinian man originating from the village of Qabatiya in the northern occupied West Bank.
After the stabbing near Ein Harod, the suspect fled but was intercepted by an armed civilian who opened fire, wounding him outside Afula.
Two Israelis have died following ramming and stabbing 'terror attack'
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According to the Israel Defence Forces, the man had entered Israeli territory without authorisation several days before carrying out the assault.
Emergency services then transported the injured attacker to hospital for treatment.
Israel's Kan News public broadcaster reported that the 37-year-old had been employed illegally within Israel and had commandeered his employer's vehicle to execute the attack.
In response to the attack, the Israel Defense Forces announced preparations for a military operation in the Qabatiya area.
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Israeli authorities identified the suspect as a 37-year-old Palestinian man
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Defence Minister Israel Katz stated he had instructed the IDF to act "forcefully and immediately" against the village from which the assailant originated.
“Anyone who assists terrorism or provides sponsorship and backing for terrorism will pay the full price,” he warned.
Meanwhile, Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir stressed that the attack demonstrated “the urgent need” to pass a “death penalty for terrorists” law.
“Anyone who sets out to carry out an antisemitic terror attack must know Israel will not allow them to continue living and will send them straight to hell,” Mr Ben Gvir said in a statement.
The Israeli Government is currently reviewing such a law based on the National Security Minister's demands.
The attack occurred just one day after footage emerged showing an Israeli military reservist, dressed in civilian attire, deliberately driving a quad bike into a Palestinian man who was praying at a roadside in the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli military subsequently dismissed that soldier and confiscated his weapon.
The deadly assault took place against a backdrop of escalating violence in the region, with the United Nations documenting a surge in attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank in recent years.
Since the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed approximately 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage into Gaza, more than a thousand Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank.
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