Terrorist kills one, wounds five in central Israel shooting spree

An Arab Israeli terrorist opened fire in several locations in a shooting spree in central Israel on Sunday, killing one person and wounding five before he was shot dead by security forces, first responders said. Police later arrested a second man accused of involvement in the attack.

The Magen David Adom ambulance service said it treated two men in their 30s shot at a gas station near Kochav Ya’ir, one of whom was in serious condition; a 31-year-old man and 61-year-old woman shot in the entrance to Tzur Yitzhak, both of them in moderate condition; and two men shot on the road outside Tzur Natan — a man of about 35 who succumbed to his wounds and a man in his 40s who was in serious condition.

After the attack began in Kochav Ya’ir, sirens sounded in Tzur Natan and Tzur Yitzhak warning of terrorist infiltration and calling on residents to barricade themselves at home.

The three communities, north of Tel Aviv, neighbor each other and lie close to the West Bank security barrier on the Israeli side. After the shootings near those communities, the terrorist drove to the nearby West Bank settlement of Sal’it, opened fire on the entrance to the settlement and fled after the local security chief shot back. No one was injured in that incident.

Israeli forces finally caught up to the terrorist on the outskirts of Tayibe, an Arab town just north of Kochav Ya’ir, and shot him dead. Security officials identified him as Omar Yassin, an Israeli citizen who resided in Tayibe. The military said it was carrying out further scans in the area in search of other possible suspects.

Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition

by email and never miss our top stories

By signing up, you agree to the terms

According to police and the military, the terrorist drove a vehicle with Israeli license plates that was on the road illegally, and wielded a makeshift “Carlo” submachine gun.

Following the attack, the IDF said it encircled several West Bank Palestinian villages in the area of Kochav Ya’ir and sealed off a nearby crossing into Israel.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held an assessment following the attack and was monitoring the situation, his office said.

After initially saying the perpetrator who had been shot dead acted alone, police later said they arrested a second suspect, a man in his 20s also from Tayibe.

Police said that officers received intelligence on a man who admitted to his involvement in the attack while searching for help in hiding from law enforcement.

During his arrest, the suspect tried to stab police detectives with a glass bottle, police said. Officers managed to subdue him and take him into custody with no injuries.

Hila Hakmon, head of the Kochav Ya’ir local council, said the attack underscored the West Bank border communities’ demands for greater defense funding following the Hamas-led onslaught in Gaza border communities on October 7, 2023.

“Unfortunately, the changes in the security elements over the past two years are relatively marginal,” she told Army Radio. “We got some kind of funding from the army, but it’s a drop in the bucket compared to what is needed here, and the proof is what happened today.”

Moshe, an eyewitness who has lived in the area for the past four decades, was quoted by the Haaretz newspaper as saying, “I don’t know of an event like this in the past 40 years.”

“I heard the sound of submachine guns, poked my head out of the window and immediately heard there was an incident that began in Kochav Ya’ir,” he said.

“I’m not afraid — I have plenty of friends in Tayibe and Tira, neighbors. I live with them in peace,” he added, referring to two neighboring Arab cities.

An unnamed relative of the killed terrorist was quoted by Haaretz as saying Israeli security forces raided the family home in Tayibe.

“Large forces came and started beating us,” she said. “They seated us on the floor, covered our eyes and interrogated us. They let me leave because I was with a child.”

Nava Freiberg and Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.