One dead and 17 injured after car rams into group of pedestrians in central Israeli city
▶ Israeli bombing in southern cities kills estimated 132 people and destroys girls’ school and hospitals
An elderly woman died and 17 people were injured when cars were used to ram pedestrians in the central Israeli city of Raanana yesterday, in what local police called a very serious terror attack.
Two people are in serious condition, while nine suffered moderate injuries, Israel’s ambulance service said. At least seven children and teenagers were injured in the attack.
Police arrested two suspects, both Palestinian men from the Hebron area in the occupied West Bank, who are also accused of stabbing a driver to steal their vehicle. Deputy police commissioner Avi Bitton said he could not rule out the possibility that other suspects were at large, and promised to ensure a significant police presence in the area.
Israel’s internal security agency, Shin Bet, said that the suspects, Ahmed Zidat, 25, and Mahmoud Zidat, 44, were working in Israel illegally.
Police initially described the attack as “unusual”, as authorities tried to piece together how the vehicles had caused such extensive damage.
The assault appears to have begun when one of the attackers stabbed a driver and stole their car, which was then used to ram at least three people. This vehicle became stuck, after which a second one was stolen, which was then used to ram more people.
The attack unfolded as schools in the city were finishing for the day.
Police later said the two suspects are believed to have been working in an industrial district. Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that at least one of the men worked at a car wash.
The incident comes amid an increase in Palestinian attacks on checkpoints around Jerusalem. Tensions have surged in the West Bank since Israel implemented severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinians, which residents say are taking a huge toll on the local economy.
Shin Bet is reported to have warned the Israeli government several times in recent weeks that the situation in the West Bank is on the verge of becoming critical.
Israeli security forces carry out daily raids in the territory, often resulting in Palestinians being killed or detained.
These operations are common in the West Bank, but are now spreading to areas outside the usual flashpoint cities.
“I was sitting at home and now I’m displaced,” Ahmed Al Aosatath, a resident of Deir Al Balah, in central Gaza, told The National after his home was destroyed early yesterday in an Israeli air strike.
About 132 Palestinians were killed in overnight bombings, Gaza’s Health Ministry reported, as the besieged enclave was also affected by cuts to communications.
The ministry said that Israel conducted “intense” strikes and artillery bombardments that hit the southern cities of Khan Younis and Rafah, as well as Deir Al Balah and areas further north near Gaza city.
Two hospitals, a girls’ school and dozens of homes were among those destroyed in the attack.
The Israeli military accused Hamas of hiding tunnels under hospitals and using them as command centres, as well as exploiting civilian infrastructure to shield its activities. Hamas denies the accusations.
Mr Al Aosatath said that he is terrified as one of the bombs that hit his family home did not explode and remains outside.
“The house is partially destroyed and is unsuitable to live in,” he said.
He had hoped to retrieve personal items but found everything had been destroyed.
“We spent years building our dream house, and then in one second everything exploded. This is our fate as Palestinians,” he said.
Ministry of Health spokesman Ashraf Al Qudra said the Israeli army deliberately destroyed residential neighbourhoods and infrastructure.
Israel’s military campaign on Gaza has killed about 24,100 Palestinians while 60,834 have been injured since the war began, the ministry said yesterday.
About 252 Palestinians were injured in the past 24 hours, the ministry added.
“There are still a number of victims under the rubble and on the roads where the ambulance and civil defence crews cannot reach them,” said Mr Al Qudra.
Israeli strikes followed attacks by Hamas militants on southern Israel on October 7 where about 1,200 people were killed and about 240 taken hostage.
Meanwhile, telecoms and internet services remain cut in the strip for the fourth consecutive day. Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that 80 per cent of Gaza’s communication sector has been damaged by Israel’s strikes.
“Technical crews are being directly targeted while carrying out their work, despite co-ordination with international institutions,” said the agency.
This is the seventh time that communications have been cut in the strip since the Israel-Gaza war began.
As a result of the constant attacks by Israel’s military, Gaza’s infrastructure, networks and transmission towers have been destroyed or severely damaged.
Israel’s military campaign on Gaza has killed about 24,100 Palestinians while 60,834 have been injured since the war began