Jerusalem, 5 February, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Three men were shot and killed early Thursday in a targeted attack in the northern Israeli village of Suweid Hamira, as a wave of homicides in the Arab sector continued. It was the second Triple murder in two days, raising this year’s number of Arab murder victims to 35.
Police said the killings were related to a years-long feud between rival families that has claimed dozens of lives and spilled into neighboring communities.
The victims were traveling together in a vehicle when gunmen arrived and opened fire. According to initial findings, the three attempted to flee their car but were struck by additional gunfire. Two of the men, aged 25 and 28, were pronounced dead at the scene. A third victim, aged 64, was critically wounded and underwent prolonged resuscitation efforts before later being declared dead.
Paramedic Anwar Kaabia of Magen David Adom’s motorcycle unit and MDA medic Mustafa Shehadeh described the scene faced by emergency responders. “We arrived and saw three men lying unconscious, without a pulse and without breathing, with penetrating injuries to their bodies,” they said. “Two men, about 30 years old, had very serious injuries, and after medical examinations, we were forced to declare them dead. At the same time, another team began performing CPR on a man, about 50 years old. We loaded him into an MDA intensive care unit and urgently evacuated him to the trauma room at the hospital in critical condition.”
President Isaac Herzog condemned the violence. “This is not a ‘sector statistic,’ this is a painful Israeli tragedy. The blood spilled on the streets of Arab society is the blood of the country’s citizens, and the rampant crime is a clear and immediate danger to the security of all of Israeli society.”
Calling the situation a National emergency, Herzog added, “This violence will not stop within the borders of this or that village. It is a disease that gnaws at the foundations of all of us. The law enforcement system and the political echelon must join hands. The area needs solutions in legislation and enforcement.”
On Tuesday, three Israeli-Arabs were traveling together in a car when they were shot at close range near the cities of Kfar Saba and Ra’anana. The driver lost control and crashed into a passing bus. No injuries were reported among bus passengers. Police also attributed the shooting to a blood feud between rival families. Three suspects, all residents of the northern village of Tira, were arrested after a manhunt.
The two shootings come amid a continuing pattern of violence in the Arab sector, which saw a record number of 252 Israeli-Arabs murdered in 2025 — more than double the 120 homicides in 2022.
The surge is attributed to organized crime groups fighting turf battles and attempting to eliminate rivals. Arab criminal organizations have been involved in extortion, money laundering, and trafficking in 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.
An estimated 40,000 Israeli Arabs and Jews demonstrated in Tel Aviv on Saturday night, calling on the government to take stronger measures against the surging violence.
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