1 dead, several wounded in 'multiple car-ramming attack' in central Israel

Jan. 16 (UPI) -- One person was killed and several others were injured in what Israeli police is calling "a multiple car-ramming attack."

The attack happened Monday in the central Israel town of Ra'anana.

Israel Police said two suspects, both from the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, entered Israel illegally and stole multiple cars that they used to run over Israeli citizens.

"It is currently believed to be a multi-stage event in which the suspects switched between three vehicles," it said in a statement on X. "Central district police officers are sweeping the attack scenes and its surroundings to ensure no further threats."

Israel's emergency medical service Magen David Adom said a woman in her 70s was killed and 17 others were injured, including two critically.

The French foreign ministry said in a statement that two of its citizens were among the wounded, and that Paris' consulate general in Tel Aviv was working to offer support.

"Nothing justifies terrorism," it said.

The attack comes amid Israel's war against Hamas, with the militant group later Monday calling those responsible for the Ra'anana attack "heroes." The militant group also described the attack as "a natural response to the occupation's massacres and aggression against the Palestinian people," The New York Times reported.

The Biden administration has issued a statement of condemnation.

"We condemn the abhorrent terrorist attacks in Ra'anana that killed one Israeli and wounded others and send our deepest condolences to the victims' families," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.