Man killed in Kafr Qara in suspected gangland shooting

A man was shot dead in the Arab Israeli city of Kafr Qara on Saturday night, with an initial probe finding the killing was related to crime feuds, the Israel Police said in a statement.

The Abraham Initiative, an anti-violence watchdog group, identified the victim as Amin Agbariya, 40, from the northern Arab town of Umm al-Fahm.

It was the latest death in a wave of violence plaguing the Arab community that the group said has already cost 215 lives since the start of the year.

Medics called to the scene in the city found Agbariya without vital signs and took him to Hillel Yaffe Medical Center in nearby Hadera while working to resuscitate him, the Magen David Adom emergency service said.

He was later declared dead at the hospital, police said in an update. The force said an initial investigation found that the incident was related to criminal activity rather than terrorism, and that officers were working to determine the motive.

Agbariya was married two months ago, according to Hebrew media reports. He previously served time in prison for the killing of a business rival in 2008, the Walla news site reported. He was sentenced to 17 years in 2010 under a plea bargain.

The Abraham Initiatives said in a statement Sunday that of the 215 members of the Arab community killed by violence since the beginning of the year, 182 were shot dead.

During the same period last year, there were 201 deaths, marking a seven percent increase for 2025.

Last week, 17-year-old Muhammad Marazqa was fatally stabbed by his classmate during a school brawl in Kafr Qara; 18-year-old Qassem Asleh was shot dead while on his way to work in Arraba, a city in the Lower Galilee; and 54-year-old Rasem Naamneh was shot dead outside his store in Kaukab Abu al-Hija, a small Arab town in northern Israel.