| 2024 Ra'anana attack | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict | |
  class=notpageimage| The attack site | |
| Location | Ra'anana, Israel |
| Coordinates | 32°11′N 34°52′E / 32.183°N 34.867°E / 32.183; 34.867 |
| Date | January 15, 2024 (2024-01-15) 13:30 – 15:30 |
| Attack type | Vehicle-ramming attack, mass stabbing |
| Weapons | Knife, multiple cars |
| Deaths | 1 civilian |
| Injured | 18 (including children) |
| Assailants | Mahmoud & Ahmad Zidat |
| Motive | Reaction to the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip (2023–present) |
On January 15, 2024, during the Israel–Hamas war, a combined vehicle-ramming and stabbing attack occurred in the industrial zone of Ra'anana. One civilian was killed and eighteen others were injured. The two attackers, Palestinian residents of Bani Na'im in the Hebron area, were arrested.
Attack
The attack occurred around 13:30 when two Palestinians from Bani Na'im entered Ahuza Street in Ra'anana illegally. One of them took control of a driver's car, broke into the vehicle, and stabbed her. He then drove around the city, changing three cars and running over several civilians. Afterwards, he took control of another vehicle, drove towards Haroshet Street, and hit civilians. He then reached Weizmann Street, where he ran over several people and fled the scene.
Immediately after receiving reports of the incident at the emergency centers, security forces began a pursuit of the terrorist. A rapid police chase and additional special units led to his capture, along with someone who apparently assisted him in the attack.
Very quickly, a large number of police forces arrived, including the Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai and the District Commander Avraham Biton. The victims were directly evacuated to the hospital along with a woman in her 70s, where her death was pronounced after resuscitation efforts. In addition, three were seriously injured, including a 16-year-old boy. Nine people were moderately injured, and six were lightly injured, including children.
Assailants
The terrorist assailants were Mahmoud Zidat, 44, and Ahmad Zidat, 25, brothers from Bani Na'im in the Hebron area, who were staying in Israel illegally, working in a city car wash. The two were had been apprehended several times before for staying in Israel illegally. In May preceding the attack, Mahmoud Zidat was caught for illegal stay, and was sentenced to a relatively short punishment of 20 days of actual imprisonment in addition to a conditional sentence, partly due to consideration of his personal and family situation, despite 6 previous convictions.
The Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security agency, reported that the pair aimed to carry out the attack in response to Israel’s war on Gaza. Avichay Adraee, the Israeli military's Arabic spokesman, was allegedly targeted due to his prominence in Arab media as a representative of Israeli forces. Police investigation indicated that months before the attack, Ahmed Zidat observed Adraee at a restaurant and considered attacking him but was unarmed at the time. Zidat reportedly returned to the area for weeks, armed with a knife, in search of Adraee but did not encounter him again.
Reactions
Hamas
Hamas said in a statement: "We confirm that the 'Ra'anana' guerrilla operation carried out by our Palestinian heroes, Al-Murabitun, is a natural response to the massacre acts of the Nazi occupation... We are mobilizing our revolutionary youth across the West Bank and Jerusalem, and call on them to escalate the struggle and the revolution until the overthrow of the Nazi occupation, to liberate our land and our sanctity, and to establish our Palestinian state. With Jerusalem as its capital, blessed be God."
References
- ^ Ben-Zur, Raanan (2024-01-15). "1 dead, at least 17 injured, in terror attacks in Ra'anana". Ynetnews. Archived from the original on 2024-01-15. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
- Fabian, Emanuel (15 January 2024). "Second suspect from Hebron arrested in connection to Ra'anana attack". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 2024-01-15. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
- "המפכ"ל בזירה: "הצלחנו לשים את ידינו גם על המפגע השני"". Archived from the original on 2024-01-15. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
- "Woman killed, 17 wounded in car-ramming, stabbing spree by 2 terrorists in Ra'anana". The Times of Israel. 2024-01-15. Archived from the original on 2024-02-25. Retrieved 2024-02-18.
- ""נקמתי, אללה אכבר": ההתכתבויות של המחבלים בטלגרם מיד אחרי הפיגוע". Archived from the original on 2024-01-15. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
- "Israeli military's Arabic spokesman Avichay Adraee was 'initial target of attack'". The New Arab. February 22, 2024.
- "الصور الأولى لمنفذي عملية رعنانا في تل أبيب". بوابة الوفد الإلكترونية (in Arabic). 2024-01-15. Archived from the original on 2024-01-16. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
- "قتيل وجرحى في عمليات دهس وطعن بتل أبيب والاحتلال يقتحم منزل المنفذ بالخليل". الجزيرة نت (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 2024-01-15. Retrieved 2024-01-15.
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- 2024 road incidents in Asia
- 2020s vehicular rampage
- January 2024 crimes in Asia
- January 2024 events in Israel
- Terrorist incidents in Israel in 2024
- Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades attacks
- Mass stabbings in Israel
- Terrorist incidents involving vehicular attacks in Asia
- Vehicular rampage in Israel
- Domestic reactions to the Israel–Hamas war
- Ra'anana
- Terrorist attacks in the Israel–Hamas war