Second Cold Weapon Attack in a Week Leaves One Dead in Haifa

In an attack on Monday, March 4, a man armed with a knife attacked pedestrians at the bus and train station in Haifa, northern Israel, resulting in the death of a 70-year-old man and several others injured. Israeli police and medical rescue forces reported that the elderly man suffered a deep wound to the throat from the attacker's knife and died immediately. A bullet was also found at his feet, which was fired by security guards towards the attacker. The condition of three out of four injured individuals in this incident is reported as 'serious'; one of the injured is a 15-year-old boy, and another is a 70-year-old woman. The injured were taken to Rambam Hospital in Haifa for surgery. According to Dani Levi, the Chief of Police in Israel, who arrived at the scene, the attacker arrived by bus and immediately after disembarking, attacked pedestrians and passengers with a knife, and the security forces accompanying the police, who were guarding the station, 'neutralized' (killed) the attacker. The station where the attack occurred is located in the heart of a large shopping center that serves thousands of passengers daily through numerous bus lines and two subway lines for internal and intercity trains. Following the attack, bus and train services at this station were suspended for several hours. Israeli media reported that the attacker, Yitro Shahin, 20, was from the town of Shefar'am, an Arab-majority city in northern Israel, who had returned to Israel last week after living abroad for some time. The attacker was a Druze Arab with Israeli citizenship. Some media outlets quoted residents of Shefar'am stating that he had also acquired German citizenship. Such an attack by Druze, who typically show strong loyalty to Israel and serve in its military, is rare. The Israeli Prime Minister, who was testifying in a Tel Aviv court at the time of the attack, left the trial session and stated in a message: 'We will continue to fight against those who wish to take our lives and we will defeat them.' Last Thursday, a 53-year-old Palestinian man also attacked people at a bus station outside Haifa first with a vehicle and then with a knife, resulting in 14 injuries. The attacker was also killed in this incident, and a 14-year-old girl underwent surgery for deep wounds caused by being run over by the vehicle. Israeli police and other security forces have increased security measures across the country, including in East Jerusalem during Ramadan, which began on Saturday, due to fears of attacks on Israeli citizens. The commander of the Jerusalem police stated that restrictions on the presence of Palestinian worshippers at Al-Aqsa Mosque are similar to those during last year's Ramadan, which coincided with the peak of the Gaza war. A ceasefire in the Gaza conflict has currently been extended, but its outlook remains unclear.