Three violently killed in Arab communities within hours as homicide wave continues
Man shot dead at Jaffa cafe; woman found dead in southern streambed, four family members arrested; man gunned down in Lod
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Three people were killed within hours of each other overnight Tuesday and Wednesday morning, the Israel Police said, blaming the homicides on feuds between criminals and within families.
The deadly violence began in Jaffa, where a man was gunned down as he sat in a cafe on Tuesday night. Less than an hour later, a woman was found dead in a streambed in the south of the country, and on Wednesday morning, another man was shot dead as he sat in a car in Lod.
Police did not indicate any connection between the incidents, all of which claimed the lives of Arab Israelis and pushed the homicide toll for the community since the beginning of the year to 146, according to a watchdog.
Police said a man in his 50s was shot dead in Jaffa, the second fatal shooting to take place in the city within a week.
He was identified by the anti-violence lobby group the Abraham Initiatives as Assad Kabha.
Paramedics found him lying unconscious on the ground near a local restaurant, suffering from several gunshot wounds, the Magen David Adom emergency service said. They pronounced him dead at the scene.
גבר נורה למוות בבית קפה ביפו, הרקע פלילי.
בתמונה: אסעד כבהא, גבר בשנות ה-50 לחייו, נורה למוות מטווח קצר בבית קפה ברחוב קדם ביפו.המשטרה עדכנה כי פתחה בחקירת נסיבות האירוע, וכי הרקע למקרה פלילי. pic.twitter.com/qT7olYkKoA
— מה חדש. What's new❓ (@Gloz111) July 22, 2025
Police said they suspect his death was linked to organized crime.
Eyewitnesses said Kabha was smoking a hookah when assailants opened fire at him from close range, the Ynet outlet reported. He was hit by four bullets.
Family members later clashed with police at the Wolfson Medical Center where Kabha was taken, vowing that his blood “will not be spilled in vain,” the Walla news site reported.
A short time later, the body of a woman was found in a streambed along Route 80, near the southern Bedouin village of Ararat an-Naqab.
Police suspect she was killed as part of a family dispute. According to Hebrew media reports, she was shot dead.
Officers later arrested four of her family members, a spokesman for law enforcement said. They were identified by Kan public broadcaster as her son, a brother, and two other relatives.
Then, at around 6:30 a.m., a resident of the central region city of Lod was shot dead, with police saying it was part of a feud between Arab crime groups.
The Abraham Initiatives named him as Suleiman Abu Ghanem, in his 30s.
In addition to the killings, a man in his 40s was shot in Baqa al-Gharbiyye and suffered moderate to serious injuries, police said, describing the incident also as criminal feuding.
According to the Abraham Initiatives, 146 members of the Arab community have died in violent circumstances since the beginning of the year, among them 11 women, amid an unrelenting crime wave plaguing Arab locales throughout Israel.
Of those killed, 124 were shot, the watchdog said.
On Tuesday, a man who was shot the day before in Haifa died of his injuries.
On Saturday, a man in his 60s was shot dead in Jaffa.
The vast majority of homicides in the Arab community remain unsolved by law enforcement, with many community leaders criticizing police for focusing on what they say are the wrong things and failing to coordinate with local Arab politicians in the fight against violent crime.
The Times of Israel Community.