Off-duty IDF officer stabbed in Beersheba terror attack amid Gaza war; assailant shot dead (WATCH)
An off-duty Israel Defense Forces (IDF) officer was stabbed and sustained minor injuries in a terror attack at Beersheba’s central bus station, as reported by police and medics on Sunday.
FollowAn off-duty Israel Defense Forces (IDF) officer was stabbed and sustained minor injuries in a terror attack at Beersheba’s central bus station, as reported by police and medics on Sunday. Following the stabbing incident at a bus platform, another soldier shot the terrorist, who was later pronounced dead, according to police and the IDF.
The assailant was identified as Naji Abu Freh, 28, a resident of the nearby Bedouin city of Rahat.
Also read: Gaza war: IDF says three senior Hamas terrorists eliminated in Shifa hospital operation
The injured officer was transported to Beersheba’s Soroka Hospital with minor arm injuries, confirmed the Magen David Adom ambulance service. He was reported to be in good condition.
During the attack, another individual sustained minor injuries due to a bullet ricocheting amid the gunfire directed at the attacker.
An off-duty Border Police officer present at the scene, identified as Shalev, recounted to Ynet that he intervened by grabbing the stabber's arm, while another soldier on site fired the shot that incapacitated the assailant.
“I made the terrorist drop the knife,” he was quoted as saying by Times of Israel. “They told me to move and shot two bullets at him.”
Witnesses present at the scene reported observing the assailant at a bus stop just before he carried out the stabbing, and individuals fled the area immediately after he was shot.
This incident occurred several weeks following a separate attack in which a resident of Rahat, originally from the Gaza Strip, fatally stabbed an IDF noncommissioned officer at a gas station north of Beersheba in a terrorist act.
Since October 7, when around 3,000 terrorists broke across the Gaza border into Israel under the direction of Hamas, murdering at least 1,200 people—most of them civilians—and taking 253 hostages, tensions in both Israel and the West Bank have been high.
