Israeli security forces inspect the scene where a vehicle was used by an assailant in a suspected ramming and stabbing terrorist attack that killed two people in northern Israel according to Israeli authorities, in Afula, Israel, Dec. 26, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Gil Eliyahu

A Palestinian assailant ran over a man and stabbed a woman and killed them both in northern Israel on Friday, Israeli emergency services said.

The assailant, from the West Bank, was shot and wounded by a civilian at the scene and taken to hospital, the Israeli police said in a statement.

“This was a rolling terror attack,” the police added.

The first victim, 68-year-old Shimshon Mordechai, was run over. The terrorist then fled in a vehicle, exiting it to stab an 18-year-old woman, Aviv Maor, Israeli media reported.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said he had instructed the military to respond forcefully in the West Bank town of Qabaitya, where he said the assailant came from, to thwart any further attacks.

The Israeli military said it was “preparing for an operation” in the area.

The Israeli ambulance service said that a 16-year-old boy was also hurt in the attack and that the man and woman were pronounced dead at the scene after medics were unable to resuscitate them.