2024 Ra'anana attack

32°11′N 34°52′E / 32.183°N 34.867°E / 32.183; 34.867DateJanuary 15, 2024 (2024-01-15)
13:30 – 15:30Vehicle-ramming attack, mass stabbingWeaponsKnife, multiple carsDeaths1 civilianInjured18 (including children)AssailantsMahmoud & Ahmad ZidatMotiveReaction 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.^[1]

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.^[2]

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.^[3] 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.^[1]

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.^[4] 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.^[5]

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."^[6][7]

References