Israeli authorities say two Israelis were killed and six others injured on Friday in what they described as “a combined ramming and stabbing attack” in the Bisan area in the northern part of the country, prompting a large-scale military invasion of Qabatia, south of Jenin in the northern occupied West Bank.
According to Israeli Army Radio, the suspected attacker was identified as Ahmad Abu ar‑Rob, a Palestinian from Qabatia. A security source from the Shin Bet said Abu ar‑Rob is alleged to be affiliated with Islamic Jihad. He was shot, wounded, and detained by Israeli police at the scene.
Details of the Bisan Attack:
Israeli police said the attack unfolded across three separate locations. Emergency services reported that:
- A woman was fatally stabbed.
- Another Israeli was killed in a vehicular ramming.
- Six others were injured.
Israeli sources said 68‑year‑old man, Shimshon Mordechai of Beit She’an (Bisan), and 18‑year‑old Aviv Maor were killed in the attack.
They added that Mordechai was run over near Beit She’an before the attacker fled in a vehicle, then exited it on Route 71 and fatally stabbed Maor.
Al Jazeera’s correspondent said the attacker first rammed an Israeli, then exited his vehicle and stabbed a woman before being shot by police. Israeli Channel 12 reported that he was transferred to hospital in moderate condition.
Israeli Army Radio quoted a security official saying the suspect had infiltrated Israel several days earlier through a breach in the Annexation Wall near occupied Jerusalem.
The official added that Abu ar‑Rob was known to Israeli security services and had been banned from entering Israel.
Israeli Response and Military offensive in Qabatia
Following the attack, Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz ordered the army to act “forcefully” in Qabatia.
Katz said that anyone who “supports or shelters assailants will pay the full price,” calling for the pursuit of armed Palestinians and the targeting of what he described as “militant infrastructure” in the town.
Shortly after Katz’s order, Israeli forces invaded Qabatia with large numbers of troops from the Duvdevan unit, paratroopers, and police special forces.
Israeli media reported that aircraft were deployed to provide surveillance and potential fire support over Jenin and Qabatia.
Israeli Army Radio said units were working to encircle the town, erecting roadblocks, and sealing off access points.
Yedioth Ahronoth reported that the army was preparing to impose a full lockdown on Qabatia for several days.
Al Jazeera’s correspondent confirmed that Israeli bulldozers began blocking internal roads inside the town as part of the operation.
Israeli Channel 12 reported that forces invaded the home of the suspected attacker in Qabatia.
The Israeli news site Walla quoted a military source saying the army and Shin Bet were interrogating members of the suspect’s family and that engineering units had begun surveying the house in preparation for demolition.
Israeli media also reported that security agencies were investigating how the Palestinian managed to enter Israel and why no intelligence warnings were issued beforehand.
Yedioth Ahronoth added that the Israeli army deployed additional forces north of the West Bank, including in the Jordan Valley to secure areas along the Annexation Wall and reinforce colonies during the Qabatia invasion. Israeli police said investigations were ongoing at all three sites of the Bisan attack.
On Tuesday, a Palestinian worker, Youssef Omar Ahmad Aqel, 33, died of injuries he sustained days earlier in the town of Ar-Ram, north of occupied Jerusalem.
Since October 7, 2023, Israeli occupation forces have killed 1102 Palestinian citizens in the West Bank, including 229 children and 24 women.
In the Jenin governorate, 310 Palestinians have been killed, while 213 were killed in Tulkarem, 138 in Nablus, 105 in Hebron, 98 in Tubas, 81 in Ramallah, 60 in Jerusalem, 42 in Qalqilia, 34 in Bethlehem, 13 in Jericho and the Jordan Valley, and 8 in Salfit, according to the Shireen Observatory.
In the Gaza Strip, the overall death toll since October 7, 2023 has increased to 70,942, including women and children, while at least 171,211 Palestinians have sustained various degrees of injuries as a result of Israel’s military onslaught.
Despite the declared “ceasefire,” announced on January 15, 2025 and took effect on January 19, 2025, Israeli strikes and structural collapses have continued. Ministry data, consistent with figures reported by Al-Jazeera and Arabs48, shows, 410 Palestinian killed, 1,134 injured, and 654 bodies recovered from rubble.
