At least two people were killed and others wounded in a stabbing attack near Tel Aviv on Sunday. According to the police, a Palestinian suspect was "neutralised".
The stabbing took place during the morning hours near a gas station and a park in Holon City. The police said in a statement that the suspect, a Palestinian from the occupied West Bank, was killed by a police officer who arrived at the scene.
"The terrorist was quickly neutralised...at the scene and prevented him from carrying out an even worse attack," police spokesman Eli Levi said.
Extensive searches were conducted in the area to rule out any infiltrators. A 70-year-old woman and an 80-year-old man died in the tragic incident.
Israel's far-right National Security Minister Ben-Gvir visited the scene of the incident and encouraged the citizens to take up arms, reported Israeli media.
Reportedly, the suspect was identified as a 34-year-old man from Salfit. He had entered Israel without a permit. Soon after the attack, the Israeli forces closed the entrance to the town as well.
An Israeli soldier was killed in another stabbing incident last month. The suspect was shot dead by the police.
Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes killed at least 18 people in Gaza on Sunday. Among those dead were four who were sheltering in a tent camp for displaced Palestinians inside a hospital complex.
After the death of Hezbollah senior commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut and Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Iran, tensions soared in the region. A threat of regional war looms amid the mounting fears of escalation in the Middle East.
Israel has been bracing for retaliation after the death of the senior militants and Iran's "direct" threat of attack.
Since the Israel-Hamas war, at least 39,550 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza Health Ministry.
Over 590 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the occupied West Bank since the start of the war in Gaza, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Most of them were killed during Israeli raids and violent protests, it said.
