Israeli security officials stand next to a damaged vehicle, following a terrorist attack in Haifa, Israel, January 29, 2024. REUTERS/Shir Torem TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Terror struck two locations in Israel on Monday, one in the Gush Etzion settlement block in the West Bank and the other in Haifa. In both cases the terrorists were shot dead by soldiers before they succeeded in murdering civilians and soldiers.

Near a military checkpoint on the highway between the Jewish and Arab cities of Tekoa, a terrorist attempted to stab soldiers, after which he was shot dead by the IDF. In this case, no injuries were reported among the forces or civilians.

In Haifa, just 150 meters from the Haifa Navy Base, a terrorist rammed his car into pedestrians, before heading towards the entrance of the base with an axe. In this incident as well the terrorist was killed by a soldier from the base.

Magen David Adom, Israel’s national emergency response service, reported that a 20 year old man was seriously injured  in the lower part of his body when he was hit by the car, and was taken to the city’s Rambam Hospital. It was reported that his injuries were not life-threatening. Paramedic Hanan Zohar on the scene told Hebrew media, “When we arrived at the scene, we saw the injured man lying next to the wall while he was conscious and suffering from severe bruises on his lower limbs. We gave him medical treatment that included dressings and painkillers and evacuated him in an MDA intensive care unit to the hospital when he was in serious condition.”

The terrorist was an Israeli citizen from the Lower Galilee town of Tamra, a city that is 99.6% Arab Muslim per Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics, as is common in many towns by the Galilee.

Attacks in Haifa, and by Arabs with Israeli citizenship, are rare. Haifa is a mixed city, with 25% of the population being Arab. It is considered a place where tensions between them and Jews are relatively low, considering the long history of the two peoples living in the city together.

The last attack in the city was in 2022, when a 15 year old girl stabbed a 47 year old man who survived the incident.