BEERSHEBA, Israel: A man wielding a knife stabbed several people and ran over another in southern Israel on Tuesday, killing four, in one of the deadliest attacks in the country in recent years.
The assailant, who Israeli media have identified as a Bedouin man who previously tried to join the Daesh group, was shot dead by armed locals following the attack in the southern city of Beersheba, police said.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett promised to crack down on “terrorists” following the bloodshed that began shortly after 4:00 p.m. (1400 GMT) and unfolded at a petrol station and on a street outside a nearby shopping center.
Liraz Zrihan, a 25-year-old who was washing her car at the petrol station when the rampage began, said she saw the attacker holding a long knife, “like a sword,” while spinning around and looking for people to stab.
According to police and the Magen David Adom emergency medical responders, the assailant stabbed one woman at the gas station, used his car to run over a man in his sixties on a bicycle, and stabbed several others outside the shopping center before he was shot.
Police have not officially identified the suspect.
But multiple Israeli media outlets reported the attacker was Mohammed Abu Al-Kiyan, a former schoolteacher in his thirties from the Bedouin community of Hura, near Beersheba, who was previously convicted over seeking ties with Daesh and preaching extremist ideology.
In 2015, Israel arrested six Bedouins, including four teachers, for allegedly supporting Daesh.
Bennett, who met with his internal security minister and police chief after the attack, praised those who shot the alleged assailant, saying they “showed resourcefulness and courage and prevented further casualties.”
“Security forces are on high alert. We will work hard against terrorists. We will pursue them as well and those who help them,” the Israeli premier tweeted.
The United Nations’ envoy for Middle East peace, Tor Wennesland, condemned the violence, which he said was “the seventh stabbing attack against Israelis this month.”
“I am increasingly alarmed by the continued violence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel that is taking place on a daily basis,” the UN envoy said in a statement.
Stabbing and car-ramming attacks are common in Israel.
But much of the recent violence has occurred in east Jerusalem, the Palestinian sector of the city annexed by Israel after the 1967 Six Day War, or in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since the same year.
Attacks resulting in multiple Israeli fatalities have also been rare in recent years, while Israel’s south, including Beersheba, has largely been spared such violence.
The region has seen unrest involving Bedouin, who are part of Israel’s 20 percent Arab minority and who have clashed with security forces, typically over land disputes.
Mansour Abbas, the leader of Israel’s Raam party that backs Bennett’s government and was widely supported by Bedouin voters in elections last year, denounced the attack.
“The Raam party condemns the criminal attack in Beersheba and sends its condolences to the families of those killed,” said a party statement posted on his personal Facebook page.
The local council in Hura also condemned the incident as a “criminal and terrorist act.”
Four dead in Israel stabbing, car-ramming, assailant shot
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Four dead in Israel stabbing, car-ramming, assailant shot

- The assailant, who Israeli media have identified as a Bedouin man who previously tried to join Daesh, was shot dead by armed locals following the attack in the southern city of Beersheba
- Liraz Zrihan, who was washing her car at the petrol station when the rampage began, said she saw the attacker holding a long knife, ‘like a sword,’ while looking for people to stab
Oman announces US-Houthi ceasefire deal

- “They said please don’t bomb us any more and we’re not going to attack your ships,” Trump said
- There was no immediate response from the Houthis
WASHINGTON: The United States and Yemen’s Houthis have reached a ceasefire agreement, mediator Oman announced Tuesday, saying the deal would ensure “freedom of navigation” in the Red Sea where the militia has attacked shipping.
“Following recent discussions and contacts... with the aim of de-escalation, efforts have resulted in a ceasefire agreement between the two sides,” said Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi in a statement posted online, adding that “neither side will target the other... ensuring freedom of navigation and the smooth flow of international commercial shipping” in the Red Sea.
Earlier on Tuesday, President Donald Trump said that the US will stop bombing the Houthis in Yemen after the Iran-aligned group agreed to stop interrupting important shipping lanes in the Middle East.
In an Oval Office meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Trump announced the Houthis have said that they no longer want to fight but did not elaborate on the message.
“They said please don’t bomb us any more and we’re not going to attack your ships,” Trump said.
The Houthis have been firing at Israel and at shipping in the Red Sea since Israel began its military offensive against Hamas in Gaza after the Palestinian militant group’s deadly attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
The US president said Washington will take the Houthis’ word that they would not be blowing up ships any longer.
Tensions have been high since the Gaza war began, but have risen further since a Houthi missile landed near Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport on Sunday, prompting Israeli airstrikes on Yemen’s Hodeidah port on Monday.
The Israeli military carried out an airstrike on Yemen’s main airport in Sanaa on Tuesday, its second attack in two days on the Houthis after a surge in tensions between the group and Israel.
The bodies of a Belgian mother and her son were recovered in southern Jordan after flash flooding

- The mother and children had been part of a group of 18 tourists
- Fourteen tourists, all Czechs, were rescued on Sunday
AMMAN: Search and rescue teams recovered the bodies of a Belgian mother and her son on Monday in Jordan, police said a day after the woman and her three children were reported missing in flash flooding. The other two children were found alive.
Sunday’s flooding in southern Jordan also led to the evacuation of hundreds of tourists from the Petra archaeological site, the country’s main tourist attraction.
The mother and children had been part of a group of 18 tourists who had been on an adventure trip in Wadi Al-Nakhil when they were caught up in the flash flood, Ma’an district local governor Hassan Al-Jabour told state media broadcaster Al-Mamlaka TV.
Fourteen tourists, all Czechs, were rescued on Sunday. Rescue crews located two of the children alive late Sunday, Al-Jabour said. The search and rescue operation was suspended at about 2 a.m. because of the complicated weather conditions and terrain. The bodies of the woman and her son were found Monday morning after the search resumed, he said.
Further details about the family and the ages of the children weren’t immediately available.
Jordan often experiences flash flooding as heavy seasonal rains send torrents of water through dry desert valleys. At least three people died in 2021 when floodwaters swept away their car, while more than 30 people in the Dead Sea region and other parts of Jordan were killed in flash flooding in 2018.
UAE president stresses regional peace during meeting with Turkish foreign minister

- Leaders examined the strategic relationship between Ankara and Abu Dhabi
LONDON: UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan met with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan at the Qasr Al-Shati palace in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
They examined the strategic relationship between Ankara and Abu Dhabi, seeking ways to enhance it according to their mutual interests, the Emirates News Agency reported.
Sheikh Mohamed and Fidan discussed regional and international issues, highlighting developments in the Middle East. They stressed the necessity of fostering regional peace and stability in a way that benefits all nations.
The meeting was attended by several senior officials, including Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the deputy chairman of the Presidential Court for Special Affairs; Sheikh Mohamed bin Hamad bin Tahnoun Al-Nahyan, the adviser to the UAE president; Ali bin Hammad Al-Shamsi, the secretary-general of the Supreme Council for National Security; and Khalifa Shaheen Al-Marar, the minister of state.
Emir of Qatar discusses ties in phone call with India PM Modi

- The leaders shared perspectives on regional and international developments of mutual concern
LONDON: The Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani discussed ties with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a phone call on Tuesday.
The leaders discussed ways to strengthen the relationship between Doha and New Delhi. They also shared perspectives on regional and international developments of mutual concern, according to the Qatar News Agency.
Sheikh Tamim visited India last February to enhance bilateral collaboration between the two countries in areas such as trade, investment, energy, and finance.
UN urges probe into 'disturbing' video of abducted Libyan MP

- UNSMIL said it was “alarmed” by Ibrahim el-Dirsi’s “enforced disappearance”
- It described circulating images of his detention as “disturbing“
TRIPOLI: The UN mission in Libya on Tuesday called for an independent investigation into images of an abducted member of the country’s eastern-based parliament that showed signs of torture.
In a statement, UNSMIL said it was “alarmed” by Ibrahim el-Dirsi’s “enforced disappearance” and described circulating images of his detention as “disturbing.”
Dirsi, a member of the Libyan house of representatives, was kidnapped in May 2024 in Benghazi, Libya’s second largest city which he represents.
The North African country has been mired in unrest since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled dictator Muammar Qaddafi.
It remains split between the UN-recognized Government of National Unity (GNU) in Tripoli, and a rival eastern administration backed by military strongman Khalifa Haftar.
On Monday, Libya’s Al-Ahrar TV aired photos and a video showing Dirsi, apparently in a prison cell, wearing only shorts and chained with a padlock around his neck.
UNSMIL said it had asked UN digital forensic experts to verify the footage’s authenticity.
Tripoli’s GNU described the conditions in the images as “degrading, shocking and inhumane.”
It criticized the “so-called General Command,” referring to Haftar’s forces, after the video appeared to show Dirsi pleading for forgiveness.
The pro-Haftar Al-Masar TV channel quoted lawmakers as saying the images were “fabricated” and “produced using artificial intelligence.”
The eastern-based interior ministry blamed “unidentified criminals affiliated with a gang,” saying the case was under “thorough investigation.”
UNSMIL also condemned “widespread and systemic abuses in detention facilities by law enforcement and security actors in Benghazi, Tripoli, Sabha, and other locations across Libya.”
It said “arbitrary detentions, abductions, torture, enforced disappearances and deaths in custody are serious human rights violations and may constitute international crimes that can be prosecuted by the International Criminal Court.”
“Libyan authorities must ensure these practices immediately cease and that perpetrators are brought to justice,” the statement added.
In 2019, Siham Sergewa, another representative in Benghazi, was abducted from her home shortly after criticizing Haftar on television. She remains missing.