Two killed in stabbing and suspected car-ramming in northern Israel

A Palestinian motorist ran over a man and stabbed a woman in northern Israel, killing both, Israeli emergency services say.The assailant, from the occupied West Bank, was shot and wounded by a civilian at the scene on Friday and taken to hospital, Israeli police said.“This was a rolling terror attack,” they added.The Israeli defence minister, Israel Katz, said he had instructed the military to respond forcefully in the West Bank town of Qabatiya, from which, he said, the assailant had come, in order to thwart any further attacks.It is common for Israel to launch raids in the West Bank towns from which attackers have come and demolish homes belonging to their families. Israel says that helps to locate militant infrastructure and prevent future attacks. Rights watchdogs say such actions are collective punishment.The Israeli military said it was “preparing for an operation” in the area.The Israeli ambulance service confirmed a man and woman were pronounced dead at the scene after medics were unable to resuscitate them. A teenager was also hurt in the attack, they said.An Israeli reservist soldier was meanwhile reportedly under house arrest on Friday after he rammed his vehicle into a Palestinian man who was praying on a roadside in the occupied West Bank on Thursday.The reservist acted “in severe violation of his authority” and his weapon had been confiscated and his service terminated, the Israeli military said. The man who was rammed was checked in hospital, but was unhurt and was now at home.More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank between 7 October 2023 and 17 October 2025, mostly in operations by security forces and some during settler violence, according to the UN. During the same period, 57 Israelis were killed in Palestinian attacks.