A 66-year-old woman and an 80-year-old man were killed and two other people wounded in a terrorist stabbing in Holon in central Israel on Sunday morning, according to Magen David Adom.
The woman was pronounced dead at the scene, while the man succumbed to his wounds after being transported to Wolfson Medical Center along with the other victims.
The stabbings occurred at two locations in the city, and the assailant was neutralized by a police officer, according to Israeli media reports.
Police have not ruled out the possibility that another terrorist may have fled the scene.
The two other victims, a 68-year-old man in serious condition, and a 26-year-old man in moderate condition, were treated on the scene and then evacuated to Wolfson Medical Center, according to MDA Spokesperson Zaki Heller.
The terrorist was identified as Amar Razak Kamel Odeh, 35, from the Arab village of Salfit in Samaria. He did not have an Israeli residence permit. He was pronounced dead at Shamir-Assaf Harofeh hospital in Be’er Ya’akov.
Channel 12 reported that the stabbings occurred at a gas station on Moshe Dayan Street and at a nearby street. According to MDA the attacks occurred at three separate locations, around 500 meters apart.
“At the entrance to the Egged [bus] parking lot on Dan Shomron Street in the city, we saw a 26-year-old man, conscious, with stab wounds, in moderate condition. In a nearby park was a 70-year-old, unconscious woman with no pulse and not breathing. We performed CPR and had to determine her death. Another man who was near her was seriously injured. Another injured man, a 70-year-old man, was on Moshe Dayan Street, and was taken to the hospital in critical condition while CPR was being performed,” a senior MDA medic told Ynet.
“The terrorist went on a killing spree. The police are working to rule out the presence of another terrorist and accomplices,” Israel Police spokesman Eli Levy told Channel 12. “We are in the first minutes after the attack. It is important for me to emphasize that we have not ruled out the possibility that there are additional terrorists in the area, we are conducting many scans.”
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir arrived at the scene of the attack, saying that “our war is not only against Iran, but also here in the streets.” He praised the quick police reaction to the attack, and also called on Israeli citizens to arm themselves, adding, “it saves lives,” according to Ynet.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich tweeted: “We must remember again and again, as on this difficult morning, that our war is against human monsters who are capable of murdering old men and women who were just walking down the street, a war of absolute evil and cruelty against absolute good. And the good must win and destroy the bad, without stopping for one minute. And so it will be. Condolences to the victims’ families and a full recovery to the wounded.”
National Unity Party leader Benny Gantz tweeted: “Hard morning. I would like to send my heartfelt condolences to the families of [those] murdered in the attack in Holon, to pray for the recovery of all the wounded and to strengthen the members of the security forces and our soldiers who operate at all borders and beyond them—to prevent terrorism and to strike at its perpetrators and their agents.”
With reporting by JNS.
