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1 dead in Israel stabbing attack, assailant killed

A man and woman around 30 years of age as well as a 15-year-old boy were seriously injured, Israel’s emergency service said

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Members of Israeli security and emergency services at the site of a stabbing attack at a central bus station in Haifa. Photo: AFP

A stabbing attack on Monday at a transport station in the Israeli city of Haifa left one person dead and several wounded, doctors said, in what police called a “terror attack” whose perpetrator was killed.

“A terrorist exited a bus, stabbed multiple civilians, and was subsequently neutralised by a security guard and a civilian at the scene,” the police said in a statement.

It said the perpetrator was a member of Israel’s Druze minority from the northern Israeli town of Shfaram who had returned to Israel last week after several months abroad.

Attacks by members of the Arabic-speaking Druze community are rare, as they are generally considered to have a strong allegiance to the Israeli state.

It was the first fatal attack in Israel since a ceasefire took effect in the Gaza Strip on January 19 between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas.

The attack took place at a bus and railway station in Haifa, a large coastal city in northern Israel home to a mixed Jewish and Arab population. Photo: Agence France-Presse
The attack took place at a bus and railway station in Haifa, a large coastal city in northern Israel home to a mixed Jewish and Arab population. Photo: Agence France-Presse

The attack came with negotiations between Israel and Hamas Palestinian militants over Gaza’s ceasefire stalled after the deal’s first phase ended on the weekend.

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