A Palestinian motorist killed two people in a stabbing and suspected car-ramming attack in northern Israel on Friday, according to Israeli emergency services. The assailant, who came from the occupied West Bank, was shot and wounded by a civilian at the scene and taken to hospital.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said he had instructed the military to respond forcefully in the West Bank town of Qabatiya, the alleged hometown of the attacker. The Israeli military stated it was 'preparing for an operation' in the area.
The Israeli ambulance service confirmed that a man and a woman were pronounced dead at the scene, and a teenager was also injured. It is common for Israel to launch raids and demolish homes in West Bank towns from which attackers originate, a practice rights groups call collective punishment.
In a separate incident, an Israeli reservist soldier was placed under house arrest after ramming his vehicle into a Palestinian man praying on a roadside in the occupied West Bank on Thursday. The military said the reservist acted in 'severe violation of his authority,' confiscated his weapon, and terminated his service. The Palestinian man was checked in hospital but was unhurt.
According to the UN, more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank between 7 October 2023 and 17 October 2025, mostly in security operations and settler violence. During the same period, 57 Israelis were killed in Palestinian attacks.
