Two young men were seriously wounded Friday morning in a stabbing on Ibn Gabirol Street in central Tel Aviv, as a wave of violent incidents across the country left four people dead in less than eight hours.
The stabbing took place around 6:05 a.m. near the London Ministore commercial center, according to Magen David Adom. A 25-year-old man was taken to Ichilov Hospital in serious condition, semi-conscious and suffering from multiple stab wounds. Another man, also about 25, was evacuated in serious condition.
“The victim was semi-conscious and suffered from severe penetrating injuries after being involved in a violent incident,” said MDA paramedic Shaked Cohen and medics Eli Meiri and Yisrael Meir Yehudai. “We provided life-saving medical treatment and evacuated him to the hospital in serious condition. Another man, who was also seriously injured, was evacuated from the scene.”
The stabbing came hours after three murders overnight in Haifa, Jerusalem and Wadi Ara.
Shortly before midnight, a 22-year-old Haifa resident was shot dead on Route 66 near the Tishbi Junction. Police said the man, who was known to authorities, had been in the Arab city of Umm al-Fahm and was attacked by unidentified assailants while driving home. He was taken to Rambam Hospital in Haifa, where he was pronounced dead. Police launched a search for the shooters and opened an investigation. The motive appeared to be criminal.
About an hour earlier, 19-year-old Muad al-Hudra was shot and killed in the A-Tur neighborhood of East Jerusalem. Officers from the Shalem police station and Border Police responded to the scene. Police said the killing also appeared to be criminally motivated.
At 6:15 a.m., MDA teams were called to a shooting in the village of Salem in Wadi Ara, where a 32-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene.
“The victim was unconscious and suffering from severe penetrating injuries after being involved in a violent incident,” said MDA paramedic Fawzi Jubran. “We performed medical checks, but unfortunately his wounds were critical and we had no choice but to pronounce him dead.”
The latest incidents bring the number of people killed in violent crimes in Israel’s Arab community since the start of the year to 222, according to community organizations that track the figures.
Police said investigations into all four incidents were underway.