Israel says suspected Palestinian attacker stabs woman to death

Israeli Zakka volunteers clean the scene of a stabbing attack in Herzliya, north of Tel Aviv, on December 27, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AFP

A suspected Palestinian attacker from the occupied West Bank stabbed a woman in her eighties to death in the coastal city of Herzliya on Friday, according to Israeli police and medics.

The attacker was “neutralised and arrested,” the police said in a statement.

The incident took place around 9.30 a.m. (0730 GMT) at De Shalit Square in Herzliya, the police and medics reported.

“She was brought to the hospital with multiple stab wounds while undergoing resuscitation efforts, but the hospital staff was forced to pronounce her death upon arrival,” Tel Aviv Ichilov hospital said in a statement.

“We provided initial treatment, stopped the bleeding and treated her with medication, and evacuated her in critical condition,” medic Idan Shina from the national medical service Magen David Adom said in a statement before the hospital announced her death.

Police said they were investigating the circumstances surrounding the attack.

“I can say that the terrorist is a resident of the (Palestinian) territories,” Tel Aviv District Commander Haim Sargaroff told journalists at the site of the attack.

In a separate statement, Israel’s domestic Shin Bet security agency, also said the suspected attacker was a Palestinian resident from the West Bank.

“The suspect was arrested at the scene and will be transferred to the Shin Bet investigation to continue investigating the circumstances of the attack,” it said.

Since the war in Gaza broke out on October 7 last year, there have been several attacks in Israel carried out by Palestinian militants.

At least 31 people, including Israeli soldiers, have been killed in such attacks in Israel, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.