Soldier seriously hurt in Haifa car-ramming, axe attack; suspected terrorist killed
In West Bank, stabbing attack foiled, teen attacker shot dead; two Palestinians said killed in clashes with troops during arrest raids
A soldier was seriously wounded in a terror attack in Haifa on Monday when a man rammed into him with his vehicle outside a military base in the city, police and medics said.
The attacker then exited the vehicle and ran toward the entrance of the naval base, waving an axe, before he was shot dead by an Israel Defense Force officer at the scene, the army said.
Magen David Adom medics said they arrived at the scene and found the victim, 20, conscious but in serious condition with extensive wounds to his lower limbs.
He was given emergency treatment and taken to Haifa’s nearby Rambam Medical Center.
Rambam deputy director-general Dr. Avi Weissman said the victim was sedated and intubated in the trauma room, suffering from injuries to his extremities, and will undergo a series of surgeries.
Police later identified the suspect as Wassim Abu al-Hoga, a 27-year-old from Tamra. The northern Israeli town issued a statement condemning the attack.
Al-Hoga has a criminal record for transporting people into Israel illegally, presumably Palestinians from the West Bank, police said in a statement. Al-Hoga’s condition was not immediately known.
Pictures on social media showed troops with guns drawn standing near a man lying in the street with a hatchet next to him. Other footage showed a car with its front smashed next to the outer wall of what appeared to be the military facility.
ATENTADO EN HAIFA:
terrorista árabe israelí embistió con un coche a un soldado de unos 20 años y luego salió e intentó rematarlo con un hacha. Antes que lo logre, fue neutralizado por un disparo.
El soldado está gravemente herido. pic.twitter.com/G4ObIqfiSb— Kary????????קארי ????️ (@Kary_Tur) January 29, 2024
The attack came at the same time as soldiers foiled a stabbing attack outside the West Bank village of Tekoa, which lies near a settlement of the same name.
The IDF said the attacker tried to stab soldiers at a guard post, who opened fire and killed him. No soldiers were wounded.
Hebrew media reports said the assailant was a teen.
Also in the West Bank on Monday, the official Palestinian news outlet WAFA reported that a Palestinian man died after suffering a head injury during clashes with troops in Dura, near Hebron.
There was no immediate comment from the military on the incident, but the IDF acknowledged that it killed a wanted Palestinian gunman during an attempt to arrest him in the northern West Bank town of Yamun earlier in the day.
As the elite Duvdevan unit attempted to arrest the wanted man, he opened fire at the soldiers, whereupon they returned fire, killing him, the IDF said.
According to the IDF, 19 other wanted Palestinians were detained in overnight raids across the West Bank.
During a raid in the Jenin camp in the northern West Bank, the IDF said, engineering vehicles uncovered explosive devices hidden under the roads, and troops detained two terror suspects. The IDF said troops also returned fire at gunmen who opened fire and hurled explosives at the forces in Jenin.
The army also carried out raids in the Nablus area, including in the city itself and the nearby Askar and Balata camps.
Since October 7, troops have arrested more than 2,960 wanted Palestinians across the West Bank, including more than 1,350 affiliated with Hamas. According to the Palestinian Authority health ministry, more than 300 West Bank Palestinians have been killed in that time.
