Assailant lies on the ground after terror stabbing in Ramla
A woman was seriously wounded in a terrorist stabbing attack in the central city of Ramla Friday afternoon.
According to a preliminary investigation, the victim, a Jewish woman who was visiting a friend in the mixed Jewish-Arab city, was stabbed in the back several times by the assailant, who was shot by an armed civilian at the scene.
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First responders at scene of suspected terror stabbing in Ramle
(Photo: Magen David Adom)
Large police forces were dispatched to the scene. Law enforcement suspect the stabbing was a nationalist-motivated terror attack and the Shin Bet was also involved in the investigation. The attacker, a 21-year-old local, was described in witness accounts as "mentally unstable."
Police searched the area to rule out additional suspects, deploying a helicopter for aerial surveillance. One suspect was arrested on a city street and is being investigated.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir arrived at the scene and later sustained minor injuries in a road accident when his vehicle overturned as he was leaving. Ben-Gvir's office said that his daughter, one of his bodyguards and another driver involved in the accident also suffered minor injuries and were taken to Shamir Medical Center.
Earlier at the scene, Ben-Gvir spoke with the civilian who shot the terrorist, thanked him and called him a hero. The minister said that the civilian had received his weapon four months prior as part of the minister's policy to arm civilians, a policy he praised as life-saving.
Later, when asked about the shortage of police officers, he responded, "In my view, it doesn't matter as long as there are armed citizens."
First responders transported the victim to Shamir Medical Center in Be'er Ya'akov. The hospital said she was conscious and suffering from penetrating trauma to her upper body. She was transferred to the trauma room in serious but stable condition.
Magen David Adom ambulance service emergency medical technician Mendy Amitai, among the first responders on-scene, told Ynet, "We arrived quickly at the scene and found a young woman, about 18 years old, conscious and suffering from a stab wound to the upper part of her body. We administered bandages and stopped the bleeding, and evacuated her to the hospital in an intensive care ambulance, where she was conscious and in serious condition."
The suspected terror attack comes amid heightened security tensions due to the ongoing war in Gaza. Earlier Friday, the IDF reported that forces apprehended two terrorists who arrived at Makoch farm in Benjamin, one of them armed with an axe, intending to carry out an attack in the area. Additional axes and knives were found during a search of their vehicle.
Last Sunday, a terrorist who attempted to stab soldiers at a checkpoint in the Jordan Valley was neutralized. There were no casualties among the troops.