A Palestinian assailant rammed his car into a man and then stabbed a young woman in northern Israel on Friday, killing both, police said, as the Israeli defense minister quickly ordered military retaliation on what he said was the attacker's West Bank hometown.
The attack began Friday afternoon in the northern city of Beit Shean, where the Palestinian man crashed his vehicle into people, killing one man and injuring a teenage boy. He then sped onto a highway, where he stopped and fatally stabbed the woman, said police. The man was 68 and the woman, 18, said paramedics, who pronounced both dead at the scene.
The attacker was headed for the nearby city of Afula when a security officer shot him, Israeli President Isaac Herzog said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu identified the victims as Aviv Maor, a teenager, and Shimshon Mordechai, 68.
Israeli security forces inspect the scene where a vehicle was used by an assailant in a suspected ramming and stabbing attack that killed two people in northern Israel, according to Israeli authorities, in Afula, Israel, on Dec. 26, 2025.
Gil Eliyahu / REUTERS
Herzog said he was shocked by the "horrific killing spree." He said that Israel was "committed to reinforcing and strengthening this challenging border and, of course, to bolstering the security response in the area for the full safety of the residents."
Mike Huckabee, the U.S. Ambassador to Israel, condemned the attack "on innocent civilians."
"For the Jew-haters and anti-Israel crowd, these intentional murders threaten a short & long term solution to lasting peace," he wrote in a post on social media.
Soon after the attack, Israel's military began amassing troops near the Palestinian town of Qabatiya, where Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the attacker was from.
Katz said that he'd ordered troops to "act forcefully and immediately" against what he called "terrorist infrastructure" in the town.
"Anyone who aids or sponsors terrorism will pay the full price," he said.
Israeli security forces inspect the scene where a vehicle was used by an assailant in a suspected ramming and stabbing attack that killed two people in northern Israel, according to Israeli authorities, in Afula, Israel, on Dec. 26, 2025.
Gil Eliyahu / REUTERS
It's common practice for Israel to launch raids in the West Bank towns from which attackers come or demolish homes belonging to the attackers' families. Israel says that this helps to locate militant infrastructure and prevents future attacks. Rights watchdogs describe such actions as collective punishment.
Raids have been conducted in the area of Qabatiya, which is in the northern West Bank near the major city of Jenin, over the last few weeks.
Friday's incident came a day after an Israeli reservist soldier in civilian clothes rammed his vehicle into a Palestinian man as he prayed on a roadside in the West Bank.
The Israel-Hamas war in Gaza has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and sparked a surge of violence in Israel and the occupied West Bank, with a rise in attacks by Palestinian militants as well as Israeli settler violence against Palestinians.
In September, Palestinian attackers opened fire at a bus stop during the morning rush hour in Jerusalem, killing six people and wounding another 12, according to Israeli officials.
