Three people are seriously wounded in a suspected terror stabbing attack at Gan Yavne's "Friendly" mall in southern Israel, police and medics say.
The terrorist, armed with two knives, was shot dead by a police officer and a municipal security officer who were part of the patrol unit of the municipal police.
The three, all in serious condition, are identified as a 25-year-old man, a 20-year-old man and a 17-year-old boy. Their names have not been publicly released.
Medics found the teen on a sidewalk some 100 meters (325 feet) away from the two other victims at the shopping center. He had extensive stab wounds all over his body. According to the ambulance service, he was rushed to a hospital fully conscious.
The two others were found next to a cafe in the shopping center.
A first responder says the 25-year-old was partially conscious, and medics had to fight to keep him alive while en route to Ashdod's Assuta Hospital. The 20-year-old was found unconscious, and both victims had been stabbed multiple times in the upper body.
According to reports in the media, the attack was carried out by a 19-year-old Palestinian, Muhammad Fayez Masalma, from the Hebron area in the southern West Bank, who had worked at a store at the mall. Before the October 7 massacre, he had a work permit in Israel and worked as a construction worker. When all work permits for Palestinians were revoked, he remained illegally in Israel.
The law enforcement press service reported that the terrorist had two knives, one of which was a commando knife.
