Jerusalem: At least six people were wounded and two of them are in critical condition in a stabbing attack that took the Israeli city of Hadera by surprise amid widespread tensions in the region on Wednesday, according to authorities. Police said the assailant stabbed people in multiple locations in the northern city of Hadera on Wednesday before fleeing on a motorbike.
"The terrorist has been neutralised," police said in a statement, indicating that they had killed the suspect. "Four separate locations have been identified, resulting in six victims with stab wounds." The police did not immediately provide other details, but issued a brief video of the suspected attacker being apprehended.
The attack, in four different locations, was committed by an Israeli citizen from the nearby Arab city of Umm al-Fahm, and left two people in critical condition and three in serious condition, according to The Times of Israel. In addition to the six wounded, one person sought treatment after experiencing anxiety.
According to the police, the terrorist attacked in four different locations, wounding two in the first, a third in the second, another two were attacked in the third location, and a sixth person was attacked in another location in Hadera before the police stopped the attacker, the Jerusalem Post reported.
Palestinians have carried out scores of stabbing, shooting and car-ramming attacks against Israelis in recent years, and tensions have spiked over the war in Gaza. Earlier this month, Israeli police said there was a suspected "terror" shooting in Tel Aviv on the border with Jaffa, which killed eight people on October 1.
The shooting incident took place minutes before Iran launched a salvo of over 180 missiles into Israel due to widespread tensions over Israel's military actions in Gaza and Lebanon against Iran-backed forces Hamas and Hezbollah forces. Iran attacked Israel with the missile barrage in retaliation for Israel's campaign in Lebanon that killed most of Hezbollah's top command within a week.
Israel's Magen David Adom ambulance service said it received a report at 7.01 pm (1601 GMT) of people injured by gunfire. Medics and paramedics provided on-site medical treatment to a number of wounded people with varying degrees of injuries, including some who were unconscious, MDA said.
(with agency input)
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