Tragic Mall Stabbing: Israeli Soldier Killed, Assailant Shot Dead

An Israeli soldier was killed and another person wounded in a stabbing attack at an Israeli mall. The assailant, identified as Joud Rabia, was shot dead at the scene. Militant group Palestinian Islamic Jihad described the attack as a 'heroic operation.' The Israeli defence ministry identified the victim as Aleksandr Iakiminskyi.

An Israeli soldier was killed and a second person wounded in a stabbing attack in an Israeli mall on Wednesday, in which the assailant was shot dead, Israeli police and medics said.

Israeli police said it was a suspected terrorist attack. Israel's Ynet news site named the accused attacker as Joud Rabia from Nahaf, an Israeli town where many members of its Arab minority live. There was no claim of responsibility from any group, though militant group Palestinian Islamic Jihad in a post on the Telegram site described the attack as a "heroic operation."

Israeli medics told Reuters one of the two victims was pronounced dead after being rushed to hospital, and the attacker died at the mall in Karmiel, northern Israel. The Israeli defence ministry, in a statement, later identified the dead victim as Aleksandr Iakiminskyi, a 19-year-old sergeant in the Israeli military.

Video shared on social media and seen by Reuters showed two men lying motionless on the floor of the mall while people tried to give them medical attention. At least one of the men receiving care was wearing a green uniform, the video showed. A third man, not in uniform, was lying motionless a short distance away.

Israel is conducting a military offensive in Gaza in retaliation for the deadly Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7 last year. Violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, already on the rise before the war in Gaza, has escalated further, with stepped-up Israeli military raids, settler violence and Palestinian street attacks.

In January, a Palestinian ramming attack in central Israel killed one woman and injured 12 others.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)