Two people killed in knife attack in Tel Aviv
Following strikes against Hamas and Hezbollah this week, tensions in the Middle East are high. Now, a Palestinian stabs a woman and a man to death and injures others in Tel Aviv. Police shoot and kill the attacker.
Amidst heightened tensions in the Middle East, two people were killed in a stabbing attack in Tel Aviv. A woman and a man succumbed to their injuries shortly after the attack in Holon, according to hospital reports. There were also two more injured, according to rescue services. Police described the incident as a "suspected terror attack" in the Tel Aviv suburb.
A suspect was "neutralized" at the scene, police said, and later died in the hospital. The man was a resident of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, police said.
The attack took place at several locations in Holon, according to Israel's Magen David Adom emergency service. "It was a complex and difficult terror attack, as the victims were at three different locations, about 500 meters apart," it added.
Fear of Retaliation
The deceased victims were identified as a 66-year-old woman and an approximately 80-year-old man, according to Wolfson Hospital. Magen David Adom initially reported that both later-deceased victims of the attack were 70 years old. A 68-year-old was severely injured and a 26-year-old was lightly injured, according to the rescue service.
Israel's Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, visited the scene and said, in light of Iran's threats of retaliation, "Our war is not just against Iran, but also on the streets. That's why we've armed the Israeli public with more than 150,000 gun licenses," the far-right politician told journalists.
The deadly attack occurred against the backdrop of extremely high tensions in the region. The Gaza war, sparked by the unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, has been ongoing for nearly ten months. Following the killing of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut, Iran and its allies threatened retaliation against Israel.
In this period of intense Middle Eastern tensions, sparked by conflicts with Hamas and Hezbollah, the European Union expresses its concern for the ongoing violence and calls for de-escalation. The European Union strongly condemns the attack in Tel Aviv, expressing its sympathies to the families of the deceased and wishing a speedy recovery to the injured.
