Eight Injured in Suspected Car-Ramming Attack in Israel

TEL AVIV: Israeli authorities are investigating a suspected terrorist attack after a driver rammed his car into pedestrians at a highway bus stop, injuring at least eight people. Police confirmed they had “neutralized” the suspect, a 53-year-old Palestinian from the northern West Bank who lived in Israel and was married to an Israeli citizen.

Emergency responders reported that two of the injured were in critical condition and were rushed to the hospital. Paramedic Avi Cohen described a chaotic scene in Pardes Hanna-Karkur, south of Haifa. “When we arrived, the victims were lying on the ground,” he said in a statement from Israel’s emergency rescue service, Magen David Adom. “We immediately began medical treatment, stopping bleeding and bandaging wounds.”

The attack comes amid heightened tensions following the ongoing war in Gaza, which has led to increased violence against Israelis, intensified Israeli military operations, and rising attacks by Jewish settlers on Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Hamas praised the attack, calling it a “message of defiance,” though it did not claim responsibility.

Israeli security forces have been on high alert, with officials warning of potential further incidents as tensions continue to escalate in the region.