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Petah Tikva

Yemanu Binyamin Zelka, who was stabbed and killed at his Pizza Hut job in the early hours of Independence Day. (Social media, undated; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
May 5, 2026, 10:52 am
One suspect in Zelka murder tells cops: ‘Everyone was hitting him. What, should I stop?’
Interrogators confront suspect with video of attack on 21-year-old pizzeria worker as he lay ‘in a pool of blood’; police say 19 suspects arrested
By Charlie Summers and ToI Staff
A child walks in front of a memorial mural of Yemanu Zelka, who was stabbed to death in Petah Tikva on Independence Day a week earlier, Ashdod, April 28, 2026. (Liron Moldovan/Flash90)
April 29, 2026, 5:37 pm
Police arrest another teen suspect in Independence Day murder at Petah Tikva pizzeria
Arrest brings number of detained suspects to 11; primary suspect yet to face judge; Pizza Hut reportedly to continue paying victim Yemanu Zelka’s family
By Charlie Summers
People gather outside a Pizza Hut branch in Petah Tikva, lighting candles and placing flowers in memory of employee Yemanu Binyamin Zelka, who was stabbed and later died of his wounds on the eve of Independence Day, April 27, 2026. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
April 28, 2026, 4:25 pm
Independence Day killing puts spotlight on youth violence wracking Petah Tikva’s streets
Murder of Pizza Hut employee by gang of teens seen as part of larger trend of delinquent adolescents roving sidewalks and starting fights in central Israel city and beyond
By Charlie Summers
People gather outside a Pizza Hut branch in Petah Tikva, lighting candles and placing flowers in memory of employee Yemanu Binyamin Zelka, who was killed at the site days earlier, April 25, 2026. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
April 28, 2026, 3:06 pm
Police launch major operation to combat youth violence after deadly stabbings
Law enforcement to increase presence; controversial National Guard to be deployed in Tel Aviv; main suspect in Petah Tikva killing said to be refusing to cooperate with police
By Charlie Summers
Family and friends of IDF soldier Sgt. Idan Fooks attend his funeral at the military cemetery in Petah Tikva, on April 27, 2026. (Tal Gal/Flash90)
April 27, 2026, 7:54 pm
Slain soldier’s girlfriend says at funeral that she saw his death in Lebanon in real time
Idan Fooks, 19, killed in Hezbollah drone attack on Sunday, laid to rest; girlfriend was on duty as a surveillance soldier; mother recalls his ‘heart filled with good intentions’
By Stav Levaton and ToI Staff
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (right) meets in his office with Education Minister Yoav Kisch (left) and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir on April 26, 2026, to discuss the phenomenon of teen murders. (GPO)
April 26, 2026, 4:52 pm
Netanyahu vows police, education action following ‘heinous’ Petah Tikva killing
Israel Police chief: Stabbing of pizzeria worker by teens is ‘unpredictable incident’ that is hard to prevent; Bennett: ‘Epidemic of violence and murder’ being ignored
By Stav Levaton and Charlie Summers
People gather outside a Pizza Hut branch in Petah Tikva, lighting candles and placing flowers in memory of employee Yemanu Binyamin Zelka, who was stabbed to death there, April 25, 2026. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
April 26, 2026, 12:48 am
Hundreds protest police inaction after pizzeria murder: ‘This is a wake-up call’
Teen suspected of murdering Pizza Hut worker in Petah Tikva caught on camera holding a knife covered in blood shortly after the Independence Day stabbing
By Rossella Tercatin and ToI Staff
People light candles and post messages outside a Pizza Hut in Petah Tikva, central Israel, on April 24, 2026, in memory of slain worker Yemanu Binyamin Zelka, 21, who was ambushed at the end of his shift on Independence Day night by a group of teens he had asked to stop using party spray in the restaurant. A picture of Zelka is captioned with Gen. 4:10, 'Your brother's blood cries out at me from the ground.' (Roy Alima/Flash90)
April 25, 2026, 1:47 pm
Seven teens arrested in connection with Independence Day murder of pizzeria worker
Suspects said to have acted like ‘veteran criminals’ in bid to avoid arrest after allegedly ambushing Yemanu Zelka, 21, for asking them to stop spraying party foam in Petah Tikva Pizza Hut
By ToI Staff
Yamenu Binyamin Zelka, who was stabbed to death at the Pizza Hut branch where he worked in Petah Tikva in the early hours of Independence Day, April 22, 2026. (Social media, undated; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
April 24, 2026, 2:29 pm
Pizzeria worker stabbed to death by teens on Independence Day after asking them not to use party spray
Yemanu Binyamin Zelka, 21, dies of wounds sustained at Petah Tikvah Pizza Hut; Family: He never did wrong by anyone; Boss: Everyone loved him; opposition points finger at police under Ben Gvir
By ToI Staff
Loved ones attend the funeral of Amid Mortozov, who was killed by an Iranian projectile that struck the central city of Yehud, at a cemetery in Petah Tikva, March 11, 2026. (Flash90)
March 11, 2026, 9:36 pm
Amid Mortozov, victim of Iranian cluster bomb strike, laid to rest in Petah Tivka
Mortozov, 40, eulogized by his son as a caring father: ‘You always took care of me, you were always with me. I promise not to disappoint you’
By ToI Staff
Israeli rescue teams clean bloodstains at the site where a man was killed in an Iranian missile strike in Yehud, Israel, March 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
March 10, 2026, 1:18 pm
Second victim dies after Monday’s Iranian cluster missile strike in central Israel
Construction workers killed identified as Rustam Gulomov and Amid Murtuzov; both were not in bomb shelters; strike scattered submunitions across several cities
By Emanuel Fabian and ToI Staff
Illustrative: A police car in Herzliya, August 15, 2025. (Tal Gal/Flash90)
October 26, 2025, 12:32 am
Israeli celebrity reportedly arrested on suspicion of murder; identity under gag order
According to Channel 12, prominent model is among several arrested after man found killed in central Israel; she was previously under international police investigation
By Charlie Summers
The 28 victims of Iranian missiles in June 2025, from top left: Yevgenia Blinder, Eti Cohen Angel, Yisrael Aloni, Manar Khatib, Shada Khatib, Hala Khatib, Manar Khatib, Miki Nahum, Belina Ashkenazi, Efrat Saranga, Meir Vaknin, Mariia Pieshkurova, Daisy Yitzkahi, Hadassah Belo, Kostiantyn Tutevich, Illia Pieshkurov, Anastasia Buryk; Cpl. Eitan Zacks, Noa Boguslavsky, Uri Levy, Igor Fradkin, Daniel Avraham, Avraham Cohen, Naomi Shaanan, Ivette Shmilovitz, Yaakov Belo and Michal Zacks. No image of Olena Sokolova is available. (Composite: TOI/Courtesy)
June 29, 2025, 10:56 pm
These are the 28 victims killed in Iranian missile attacks during the 12-day conflict
From a 95-year-old Holocaust survivor to a 7-year-old Ukrainian cancer patient, the following are those slain in some of the 36 Iranian ballistic missile impacts
By Amy Spiro
Ivette Shmilovitz, 95, a Holocaust survivor who was killed by an Iranian missile in Petah Tikva on June 17, 2025. (Social media, used in accordance with clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
June 23, 2025, 6:33 pm
Holocaust survivor killed in Iranian missile strike on Petah Tikva last week
Ivette Shmilovitz, 95, was killed by a shock wave caused by impact on apartment building in central Israeli city
By ToI Staff
Top (L-R): Yaakov and Hadassah Belo, Uri Levy; Bottom (L-R): Daisy Yitzhaki, Daniel Avraham, Igor Fradkin. All were killed in Iranian ballistic missile strikes on Petah Tikva and Haifa on June 16, 2025. (Social media, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
June 17, 2025, 9:23 pm
Five more victims of Iranian missile strikes in Petah Tikva and Haifa named
Name of final victim of Petah Tikva strike yet to be released; Bazan remembers oil refinery workers as ‘dedicated professionals who fell while doing their duty’
By ToI Staff
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