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Palestinian Authority/Gaza, March 14, 2024

Israeli man, 50, critically hurt in terror stabbing in south

Original source

The Times of Israel

A member of Israel’s security forces in his 50s was stabbed and critically wounded in a terror attack at a gas station in southern Israel on Thursday, police and medics said. The assailant, an Israeli citizen originally from the Gaza Strip, was shot dead by the victim.

Another man, 65, was treated for minor injuries at the scene.

The attack took place inside a branch of the Aroma coffee chain at Beit Kama Junction, just north of Beersheba.

Surveillance camera footage from the attack showed the assailant approaching a man in uniform from behind, pulling out a knife and stabbing the victim in the back. Amid a struggle, the terrorist was seen attempting to also stab the man in the neck. The pair then fell to the ground, as another man was seen trying to pull the knife from the terrorist’s hand.

The victim was seen managing to get up, then opening fire at the terrorist with his handgun.

The terrorist, a 22-year-old resident of the southern Bedouin city of Rahat, was killed.

He was identified by the Shin Bet security agency as Fadi Abu Altayef, an Israeli citizen from Rahat, but originally from the Gaza Strip. Abu Altayef’s mother is from Rahat and his father is from Gaza. They currently both reside in Gaza, according to the Shin Bet.

Abu Altayef grew up in the Gaza Strip until the age of 18, according to police. He was given Israeli citizenship in 2019 after getting married to an Israeli woman.

Police said officers raided Altayef’s home in Rahat and “collected findings for the investigation.”

The investigation of the attack was to be carried out by police and the Shin Bet.

The Magen David Adom ambulance service said it took the victim to Soroka Hospital in Beersheba in critical condition.

The attack came a day after a Palestinian stabbed a soldier and a security guard at a West Bank checkpoint near Jerusalem.

Tensions in Israel and the West Bank have been high since October 7, when some 3,000 terrorists burst through the Gaza border into Israel in a Hamas-led attack, killing at least 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and seizing 253 hostages.

Israel responded with an aerial campaign and subsequent ground operation with the goal of destroying Hamas and ending its 16-year rule over Gaza and securing the release of the hostages.

The Israel Defense Forces has continued to operate throughout the West Bank and police have been on high alert in Israel, in light of concerns about a possible escalation of violence, especially recently during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan.