At least four people died in separate cases of crime in the Arab sector on Wednesday evening and Thursday morning.
At least one person was killed and two seriously injured in a car explosion in Kiryat Yam, near Haifa, on Wednesday night, a Rambam Health Care Campus spokesperson confirmed.
A 23-year-old man and a boy, approximately 13 years old, were taken to the hospital in serious condition, suffering from multi-system injuries, the hospital stated.
The 23-year-old underwent neurosurgery, and remains kept anesthetized and ventilated in critical condition. The boy has also undergone treatments in an effort to stabilize his condition.
The man who was killed was approximately 40 years old, according to a Magen David Adom paramedic who was at the scene. He was later identified as Guy Ben Simon, and the injured 13-year-old was identified as his son.
The paramedics arrived, seeing a vehicle emitting smoke and three injured people lying near it. The 40-year-old was taken to a mobile intensive care vehicle, and despite undergoing CPR while in transit to the hospital, was declared dead by responders.
The incident is believed to be criminal in nature, Israel's public broadcaster KAN News reported.
Israel Police are examining the possibility that a bomb that was placed adjacent to the vehicle exploded prematurely, KAN reported.
A local resident identified as "Dan" described the incident.
“We were sitting at home, and suddenly there was a huge explosion. We were sure it was a missile impact, with all the tension [with Iran] and the whole situation,” Dan was cited by N12 News as saying.
"Neighbors came outside, and nobody understood what was happening. Only a while later, did we realize that it was a criminal incident and not a security risk. It does not make the situation any easier, but at least we understood what happened," Dan added.
"We heard a huge boom, went to the window, and saw the vehicle on fire," another resident, identified as "Shoshana," was cited by Ynet as saying,
"It was very scary, quite an explosion, and right next to residential buildings – children riding bicycles in the area. What devastation. A major disaster was miraculously avoided in the heart of the neighborhood," she added.
"It was a huge boom, right here in the small shopping center by a major road," another resident, identified as "Rafael," was cited by Ynet as saying.
"It's scary, look at the vehicle – it was a serious piece of explosives," he added.
In a separate incident, three men were also killed in a Bedouin village in the Lower Galilee on Thursday morning in a shooting attack, Magen David Adom stated.
Two of the men, approximately age 30, were determined to be dead at the scene. The third man, around 50, was pronounced dead several hours later at the hospital.
Police have opened an investigation into the event.
"This is not a 'statistic of the sector,'" President Isaac Herzog said about the event. "This is a painful Israeli tragedy. It's time to wake up. The blood spilled on the streets of Arab society is the blood of the country's citizens, and the rampant crime is a clear and immediate danger to the security of Israeli society as a whole."
"Another bloody day in the State of Israel. Another day when Israeli citizens pay the price with their lives for the recklessness of the most failed minister in the state's history," said Opposition leader Yair Lapid in a post on X/Twitter, referring to National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. "Three Israeli citizens were murdered this morning. It doesn't matter if they were Jews or Arabs; they are Israeli citizens. We cannot accept this situation."
Goldie Katz contributed to this report.
Copyright ©2026 Jpost Inc. All rights reserved
•
•

source