Tel Aviv stabbing attack injures four

Four people were injured in a stabbing in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, Israel’s emergency agency said.

Ichilov Hospital said it was treating three victims of the accident, including one who had “a serious problem with a knife wound to the neck”. The assailant, a 28-year-old foreign national, was shot dead at the scene, police said.

Israel’s intelligence agency, Shin Bet, said it is conducting an investigation after the decision to allow the man, who is said to have Moroccan and American citizenship, to enter the country.

This is the second killing in Tel Aviv in four days, after a man was beaten on Saturday before being shot by a civilian armed with weapons.

Tuesday’s attack took place on Nahalat Binyamin Street, an area popular with restaurants and nightlife, and near Gruzenberg Street, where the attacker stabbed another person and was shot.

Israeli media reported that an American residence permit and a border control ticket were found on the attacker’s body.

He entered Israel on a tourist visa on January 18.

Border and immigration officials stopped the man entering Israel at Ben Gurion Airport, but the Shin Bet security team allowed him to enter, Israeli Interior Minister Moshe Arbel said.

“I call on the head of the Shin Bet Ronen Bar to investigate what happened and to quickly learn from it,” he added.

The Shin Bet in response said: “After the man entered Israel, a security assessment was conducted, including additional questions and checks, which confirmed that there were no grounds for denying his entry on security grounds. The matter will be investigated.”

Hamas did not claim responsibility but in a statement praised the attack.