TEL AVIV, Israel — A woman in her 70s was killed and three other people were wounded in a stabbing attack by at least one Palestinian in a suburb of Tel Aviv on Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024, police and medics said, as tensions remained high across the region following the killing of two senior militants in separate strikes.
The police said the attack was carried out by a Palestinian militant, who was “neutralized,” and that a search was underway for other suspects in Holon, where the stabbings occurred.
Tensions have soared across the region since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack ignited the war in Gaza last year. Israel is bracing for retaliation after the killing of a senior Hezbollah commander in a strike in Lebanon and Hamas’ top political leader in an attack in Iran’s capital last week.
The police initially said four people were wounded. Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service later confirmed that the woman had died. It said a 70-year-old man was in critical condition, a 68-year-old man was in severe condition, and a 26-year-old man was in moderate condition.
The rescuers said the wounded were found in three different locations, each about 500 meters apart.
In Gaza, an Israeli strike earlier on Sunday hit a tent camp housing displaced people in the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, killing four people, including a woman, and injuring others, health officials said.
The hospital in Deir al-Balah is the main medical facility operating in central Gaza, and thousands of people have taken shelter there after fleeing their homes in the war-ravaged territory.
Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took around 250 people hostage in their surprise attack into southern Israel last October, triggering the ongoing war.
Israel’s massive offensive launched in Gaza has killed at least 39,550 Palestinians. Heavy airstrikes and ground operations have displaced the vast majority of Gaza’s 2.3 million people, often multiple times. / AP