A young Arab Israeli woman was shot dead while sitting in her car outside her home in the northern city of Haifa overnight Monday, as Israel reels under a spate of killings throughout the country.
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First responders who arrived on the scene had to declare her death on the spot. She was identified as 24-year-old Hanan Abu Hayat, mother of a 5-year-old.
The police have opened an investigation into the circumstances of her death and have begun searching for suspects. Initial findings indicate that Abu Hayat was shot at point-blank range by three gunmen after parking her car about five meters from her home.
She is the 73rd violent crime victim in the Arab sector since the beginning of the year, 11 of them in the past month.
The young woman’s killing is believed to be part of a brutal blood feud between two families, which has claimed 20 victims thus far, including Abu Hayat.
The police noted that the victim had no criminal record and was unknown to them, but she appears to be another victim in the ongoing war between crime families.
The latest victim in this conflict was Mahdi Hariri, 19, from Umm al-Fahm, who was gunned down on Highway 6 just late last month. Mahdi was the son of Hussam, who heads the notorious Hariri crime family.
In December 2022, Mahran Abu Hayat, a close relative of the slain woman, was shot dead at a restaurant in Haifa where he worked just a day after a double murder in Nazareth where a father and his infant son were also gunned down as part of the conflict between the two families.
A neighbor shared details of the attack in a conversation with Ynet, saying, "It was scary. I was still up at home when I started hearing gunfire. It wasn't just one or two shots – it was a barrage of gunfire. Seven, eight, or maybe even ten shots. I heard it clearly. After the shooting, there was silence, and then I heard screams. Her family came out of the house," he said.
"Until the police arrived, I didn't dare leave my house to see what had happened."
Another neighbor added: "My children were home, and suddenly they heard gunfire. A lot of gunfire. They didn't understand what was happening. Then ambulances and police arrived, and we understood that there was a murder."