8 soldiers injured in car-ramming terror attack in central Israel; manhunt underway

Eight soldiers were injured in a car-ramming attack near Netanya in central Israel on Thursday, with police launching a manhunt for the driver who fled the scene and then abandoned the vehicle.

Two of the victims, a man and a woman aged 20 and 18 respectively, suffered moderate injuries. Three others were in light-to-moderate condition, and three were lightly injured, the Magen David Adom emergency service said.

The incident happened on Route 57 near the entrance to Kfar Yona.

The wounded were taken to the nearby Hillel Yaffe Medical Center in Hadera and Laniado Hospital in Netanya. Several hours after the incident, the military confirmed that all eight were service members.

Police described the incident as a suspected terror attack.

The perpetrator remained at large after abandoning his car in the nearby Beit Lid area, where it was found by police.

Police said they suspect Arkan Khaled, a 27-year-old Israeli resident of Taybeh, of carrying out the attack and asked the public for its help in tracking him down.

Law enforcement published a blurry screen capture of Khaled and requested that anyone who spots him dial 100, the police emergency hotline.

Station and district officers conducted searches along roads and in open areas, assisted by other security forces, police helicopters, motorcycle units and canine units, the force said.

Security forces closed crossings into the West Bank in the area, including the road leading to Tulkarem, as they pursued the suspect, according to a military official.

Central District police commander Yair Hetzroni also gave an order to enlist local volunteer security teams in central Israel to assist in the manhunt. Police said over 350 volunteers from the Sharon Region police and Border Police had been working since the morning in the ongoing search.

Eyewitness to the attack Kinneret Hanuka, a Kfar Yona resident, told media that she was driving to work when the suspected attacker cut across her lane and accelerated toward the bus stop. After hitting those waiting at the station, he drove off, leaving the victims lying on the ground.

“I never thought I would see something like this,” she said. “It was sad.”

Hanuka described her dilemma as the drama unfolded, unsure as to whether she should rush to help the injured while afraid that the perpetrator would exit his vehicle with a weapon.

“In those moments, you don’t know what to do,” she said.

After the suspect drove away, she and others ran to assist the injured.

An MDA paramedic who came to the scene said that some of the injured had been thrown 15 meters from the bus stop. He said they were all fully conscious when medics arrived and recounted how the vehicle sped toward them, hit them, and then drove away.

The mayor of Kfar Yona, Albert Tayeb, told media there had long been concerns that bus stops along the route were not protected by metal posts, which are sometimes erected at such locations to prevent ramming.

He said local officials had contacted state road infrastructure company Netivei Israel about the issue but were told that such posts were “not safe.”