IDF: Terrorist in deadly attack infiltrated Israel illegally; troops prepare operation on assailant’s home village

The IDF says a preliminary investigation indicates that the terrorist who carried out the deadly ramming and stabbing attack in northern Israel earlier today is an illegal Palestinian entrant who infiltrated Israel several days ago.

According to the military, the attack began in the area of Beit She’an, a city near the West Bank’s northern border, and continued in Ein Harod and Afula. IDF forces were dispatched to the scene in Beit She’an, while commanders carried out situational assessments across multiple areas.

Two people were killed in the attack, and two others were injured. The assailant was shot by a civilian passerby while fleeing and was taken to a hospital in moderate condition.

The IDF says additional troops are reinforcing the seam line, a swath of West Bank land on the Israeli side of the security barrier, and are preparing to enter the attacker’s home village of Qabatiya for operational activity, following Defense Minister Israel Katz’s instruction to act “forcefully and immediately” against the village.

Separately, it says the chief of the IDF’s 417th Regional Brigade and senior commanders within the brigade conducted a situational assessment at the scene of the attack in Beit She’an.