Israeli police said two people were killed when Palestinians were shot

A Palestinian attacker rammed his car into a man and stabbed a young woman in northern Israel on Friday, killing both, police said, as Israel’s defense minister quickly ordered the military to retaliate against what he said was the attacker’s location in the West Bank.

The attack began on Friday afternoon in the northern city of Beit Shean, when a Palestinian man crashed his car into people, killing one man and injuring a young boy. He then rushed to the highway, stopped and stabbed and killed a woman, police said. The man is 68 years old and the woman is 18, according to paramedics, who revealed that both died at the scene.

The attacker was heading for the nearby town of Afula when a police officer shot him, said Israeli President Isaac Herzog.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu identified the victims as Aviv Maor, a teenager, and Shimshon Mordechai, 68.

Herzog said he was shocked by the “horrific massacre.” He said Israel is “committed to strengthening and strengthening this challenging border and, of course, to strengthening the security response in the area so that the citizens are fully safe.”

Mike Huckabee, the US Ambassador to Israel, condemned the attack on “innocent people.”

“For the anti-Jews and the anti-Israel crowd, this deliberate killing threatens the short-term and long-term solution to lasting peace,” he wrote in a social media post.

Shortly after the attack, the Israeli military began massing troops near the Palestinian town of Qabatiya, where Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the attacker was from.

Katz said he ordered the military to “work hard and fast” against what he called a “terrorist infrastructure” in the city.

“Anyone who helps or supports terrorism will pay in full,” he said.

It is a common practice for Israel to attack the West Bank towns where the attackers come from or destroy the homes of the attackers’ families. Israel says this helps secure military infrastructure and prevent future attacks. Rights watchers describe such actions as collective punishment.

There have been raids on people in the Qabatiya area, which is in the northern West Bank near the main city of Jenin, in the past few weeks.

Friday’s incident happened a day after an Israeli soldier wearing unusual clothing attacked a Palestinian man while he was praying on the side of a road in the West Bank.

The Israel-Hamas war in Gaza has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and displaced a escalation of violence in Israel and the occupied West Bank, with increased attacks on Palestinian soldiers and violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians.

In September, Palestinian attackers opened fire at a bus stop during the morning rush hour in Jerusalem, killing six people and wounding 12 others, according to Israeli officials.