Released for publication: The victim of todays ramming-shooting attack has been named as Moshe Horn

Horn, a beloved father of four, grandfather of ten, and a foundational figure in his kibbutz community, was fatally shot in his car while his 51-year-old son sat beside him, helplessly witnessing the tragedy. The attack, a brutal combination of car-ramming, stabbing, and shooting, also left an 18-year-old IDF soldier critically wounded, shaking the region just as it braced for another day of heightened tensions.

The assailant, identified as 25-year-old Karem Jabarin from Ma’ale Iron, an Israeli-Arab village, launched his assault at a bus stop along the busy highway. According to Israel Police Commissioner Danny Levi, Jabarin accelerated his vehicle into the young soldier—a heavy truck driver from an IDF tank battalion—standing at the stop. Exiting his car, he stabbed the soldier, seized his rifle, and opened fire on passing vehicles. Moshe Horn, traveling with his son, was struck by the gunfire and killed instantly. His son, lightly injured, reportedly tried to fend off the attacker with his own weapon but could not save his father. Border Police officers, en route to a training exercise, neutralized Jabarin on the spot, averting further carnage.

MDA paramedic Ofer Vinik described a harrowing scene: “We arrived and saw a man around 70 and a young man around 20 near the bus stop, both with penetrating wounds. The older man had no pulse, wasn’t breathing—we had to pronounce him dead. The younger victim, conscious but in serious condition, was rushed to Rambam Hospital in Haifa.” There, the soldier was sedated and placed on a respirator, his survival uncertain.

Kibbutz HaZore’a mourned Horn as “one of its pillars,” a man whose life was woven into its fabric. Survived by his wife Betty and children Iris, Rotem, Ofir, and Alon, Horn’s legacy spanned generations. President Isaac Herzog expressed national grief on X, writing, “My heart aches for the Horn family and Kibbutz HaZore’a. I send condolences and strength to his son, who endured those horrific moments.” Hamas praised the “heroic attack,” while Palestinian Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility, framing it as retaliation for Israeli actions in Gaza and the West Bank.

Horn’s death, in the shadow of Ramadan and escalating conflict, leaves a void in a community that revered him, his memory now a poignant call for resilience amid relentless violence.