At least 7 wounded in apparent terror attack in Israel, suspect shot by armed civilian

At least seven people are wounded following a Tuesday incident in which a Palestinian man reportedly used his vehicle to strike pedestrians in Tel Aviv before leaving his car and stabbing several people. He was subsequently killed by an armed civilian.

Israeli authorities believe the incident to have been a targeted attack and the terror group Hamas has celebrated the violence as an act of retaliation for an Israeli raid into the West Bank.

Tel Aviv Police District Commander Ami Eshed indicated that authorities were still determining whether the suspect acted alone.

"We understand that he was alone, and we have no doubt that this was an attack. They [the police] are taking action to find out if the assailant was accompanied by anyone else. This is a difficult event but currently the situation is stable," Haaretz reported him as saying.

The suspect has been identified as Abed al-Wahab Khalaila, whom Hamas has claimed as a member of their group.

"The heroic action in Tel Aviv is the first response to Israel’s crimes against our people in the Jenin refugee camp. As the [Palestinian] resistance has already put it – Israel will pay the price for its crimes," a Hamas spokesperson said.

Earlier reports incorrectly identified the attacker as Hussein Khalaila, 23, a relative of the suspect who had a permit to enter Israel for medical treatment, according to the Times of Israel.

Israel has deployed hundreds of troops to the West Bank city of Jenin in an anti-terrorism operation in response to the more than 50 shooting attacks carried out by its residents in 2023 alone.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.