By Pesach Benson • April 23, 2026
Jerusalem, 23 April, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Two men were shot dead in a late-night attack in the central Israeli city of Lod on Wednesday night, in what police say may be linked to an ongoing criminal feud, as the year’s death toll from surging Israeli-Arab violence climbed 93.
The victims, identified as Mu’atz Abu Laban, 39, and Muhammad Abdel Hadi, 30, were inside a car at a highway junction when gunmen opened fire from a passing vehicle, according to an initial police assessment.
The driver was critically wounded while the second man attempted to flee but was shot and killed on the roadway, authorities said. Emergency responders who arrived shortly afterward found both men unresponsive with severe injuries.
“We saw two men in their 30s lying unconscious after a violent incident,” said Lior Paz, a senior Magen David Adom medic. “We carried out medical checks, but their injuries were too severe, and we had to pronounce them dead at the scene.”
Shortly after the attack, a vehicle believed to have been used by the assailants was found burned in the nearby city of Ramla.
Police are investigating but have made no arrests.
The Lod killings came just hours after a separate fatal shooting in northern Israel. Earlier on Wednesday, a 35-year-old man, identified as Emil Hussein from the Druze village of Ein al-Assad in the Upper Galilee, was shot dead while inside his car. Police said that incident was also under investigation and appeared to be criminal in nature.
According to the Abraham Initiatives, a non-profit organization that promotes Arab integration into Israeli society, 93 Arab citizens have been killed in crime-related incidents so far this year, including six women.
The surging violence is widely attributed to organized crime groups engaged in turf wars and efforts to eliminate rivals. Arab criminal organizations have been involved in extortion, money laundering, and the trafficking of weapons, drugs, and women.
Critics argue the crime wave has worsened since Itamar Ben-Gvir, a far-right politician, became National Security Minister in 2022.
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