Israeli President Isaac Herzog said he was shocked by the "horrific killing spree" and pledged Israel would reinforce its security.
A Palestinian man killed two Israelis in a car-ramming and stabbing attack in northern Israel on Friday, authorities said.
The assault began Friday afternoon in Beit She'an, where the attacker drove into pedestrians, killing a 68-year-old man and injuring a teenage boy.
He then drove onto a highway and fatally stabbed a 19-year-old woman and injured another person as he headed towards the nearby city of Afula, police said. Paramedics declared both victims dead at the scene.
The two victims have been identified as 19-year-old Aviv Maor from Kibbutz Ein Harod, who was stabbed to death near a bus stop on Route 71 apparently while attempting to hitchhike, and Mordechai Shimshon, 68, from Beit She’an, a city near the West Bank’s northern border.
A passerby shot the attacker, who was taken to hospital in stable condition, according to Israeli media outlets.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said that he was shocked by the “horrific killing spree.” He said that Israel was “committed to reinforcing and strengthening this challenging border and, of course, to bolstering the security response in the area for the full safety of the residents.”
Israeli forces subsequently gathered near the Palestinian town of Qabatiya, identified by Defence Minister Israel Katz as the attacker's place of origin.
Katz ordered troops to act "forcefully and immediately" against what he termed terrorist infrastructure in the town. "Anyone who aids or sponsors terrorism will pay the full price," he said.
The Israel-Hamas war in Gaza has triggered escalating violence in Israel and the occupied West Bank, including increased attacks by Palestinian militants.
In November, attackers carried out a car-ramming and stabbing assault at the Gush Etzion junction in the West Bank, killing a 71-year-old Israeli man and wounding three others. Israeli soldiers shot dead the assailants, whose vehicle reportedly contained explosive materials.
Two months earlier, Palestinian attackers opened fire at a Jerusalem bus stop during morning rush hour, killing six people and wounding 12, according to Israeli officials.
In February 2024, a Palestinian gunman killed two Israeli civilians and injured four others in Kiryat Malakhi. The shooter was killed by an off-duty Israeli reservist at the scene.