[GRAPHIC] WATCH: Attacker stabs an elderly man in Haifa terror attack

A deadly stabbing attack rocked Haifa’s Lev Hamifratz central bus station on Monday morning, claiming the life of an Arab Israeli man man in his 70s and injuring four others. Israeli authorities have labeled the assault a terrorist attack, the first fatal incident in Israel since the Gaza ceasefire began on January 19, 2025.

The assailant, identified as 20-year-old Yitro Shaheen from Shfaram, a Druze town in northern Israel, was fatally shot at the scene by a security guard and a civilian. Witnesses reported that Shaheen shouted “Allahu Akbar” before launching the attack, stabbing passengers indiscriminately after stepping off a bus from Shfaram. Police say Shaheen, an Israeli citizen, had recently returned from abroad after several months away.

Emergency responders from Magen David Adom (MDA) pronounced the elderly victim dead at the scene and rushed the injured—a man and woman in their 30s, a 15-year-old boy, all seriously wounded, and a woman around 70 in moderate condition—to Rambam Hospital for treatment.

The attack comes amid escalating tensions following the expiration of the initial phase of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza on March 2, 2025, and Israel’s subsequent halt of humanitarian aid into the region. Hamas praised the stabbing as a “heroic operation” and a response to Israeli policies, though it stopped short of claiming responsibility.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered condolences to the victim’s family and vowed to continue fighting such attacks, while police secured the area and launched an investigation. The incident has heightened fears of renewed violence as the fragile ceasefire falters.

More details are expected as authorities piece together the events leading up to the tragedy.