A knife-wielding Arab man on Tuesday killed three people and seriously wounded two others in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba before he was killed.
Officials called the rampage a nationalistically motivated terror attack. Police gave few additional details.
But Israeli media identified the attacker as a 34-year-old Arab man from the nearby Bedouin town of Hura who was imprisoned for four years after he admitted he intended to join the Islamic State in Syria in 2015.
It appeared to be the single deadliest attack in several years.
Police said the attacker careened his car into a cyclist and stabbed four people across a swath of the city center.
Amateur video footage posted online appeared to show armed bystanders shooting and killing the attacker at the scene.
Dr. Dan Schwartzfox, deputy director of the Soroka Medical Center, confirmed the death of three victims, and said that two others remained hospitalised with serious injuries.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett issued a statement of condolences to the families of the victims and said that "we will work with a heavy hand against those who commit terror. We will pursue and reach those who assist them, too."
Palestinians have been accused in dozens of stabbings, shooting and car-ramming attacks targeting Israeli civilians and security personnel in recent years.
Most of the alleged attacks were carried out by individuals with no known links to armed groups. It is rare for such attacks to be committed by Palestinian citizens of Israel, however.
Comments About This Article
Please fill the fields below.