Palestinian terrorists mowed down and stabbed a dozen civilians in Israel, killing an elderly woman and wounding another 17 people.
The two attackers carried out coordinated car attacks in central Israel on Monday as tensions rose over the more than three-month-old war in the Gaza Strip.
Police described the attack in Raanana, north of Tel Aviv, as a terrorist attack and said two suspects had been arrested.
The two are from Hebron, a city in the occupied West Bank, and entered Israel illegally despite being blacklisted for repeated illegal entries, police said.
Palestinian terrorists mowed down a dozen civilians in Israel, killing an elderly woman and wounding another 17 people
Israeli police are investigating the scene of the hit-and-run attack in Ra'anana, north of Tel Aviv
Mahmoud Zidat, 44, an illegal worker from the Palestinian West Bank town of Bani Na'im, was accused of using three different cars to ram civilians.
His nephew, 25-year-old Ahmed Zidat from Bani Na'im, who police said was in the car with his uncle during the attack, fled the scene and was later arrested.
“They drove together and at the same time to two different locations, took two cars and carried out a series of ramming attacks,” Central District Police Chief Avi Biton said.
“This was a very serious terrorist attack.”
Police alleged one of the two stabbed a woman, stole her car and rammed it into pedestrians before losing control and causing an accident.
They then allegedly stole another car and continued driving it to random people on the street.
Another victim, a 66-year-old man, was also seriously stabbed in the chaos.
Israeli security forces work at the scene of a Palestinian car ramming and stabbing attack at a bus stop in Ra'anana, Israel
Israeli police are investigating the site of the attack on Monday
Israeli security forces search for attackers near the scene of a deadly car-ramming and stabbing attack at a bus stop in Ra'anana, Israel, on Monday
Mahmoud worked at a car wash in Raanana and Ahmed recently came to live with him and look for a job.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility by any group.
Israeli television showed personal items scattered on a sidewalk and said several children were among the injured.
Three people were in serious condition, including a 34-year-old man and a 16-year-old boy, and 14 other people, including six children, were less seriously injured.
Witnesses initially assumed the attack was a car accident after the vehicle crashed into another vehicle, flooding it with water to help the occupants.
Magen David Adom, Israel's national emergency service, said paramedics encountered numerous victims when they arrived.
“We immediately began providing medical care, including stopping bleeding, treating and administering medications.” “We evacuated the injured to hospitals for further treatment,” said paramedic Eli Raymond.
Israeli security forces search for attackers near the scene of a deadly car-ramming and stabbing attack at a bus stop in Ra'anana, Israel
Shortly after the attack, Israeli troops raided the Palestinian West Bank town of Dura near Hebron, where the terror suspects came from.
It was unclear whether the raid was directly related to the terrorist attack.
A Palestinian, Hassan Ibrahim Abu Sebaa, was killed and ten others injured when Israeli forces opened fire.
According to the IDF, about 100 locals began rioting when soldiers entered the area and attacked them with cinder blocks and Molotov cocktails.
Videos from the scene reportedly show IDF soldiers kicking a man who was lying on the ground after he was allegedly shot, and a man being marched away by soldiers holding a gun to his head.