By Pesach Benson • May 3, 2026
Jerusalem, 3 May, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Seven people were killed within hours in a wave of road accidents across Israel from Saturday night into Sunday, with multiple collisions involving private cars, trucks and motorcycles leaving additional injured in serious condition and prompting renewed concern over road safety nationwide among authorities.
Early Sunday, Netanel Ayala, a 20-year-old soldier from Ofra was killed on Highway 60 in Samaria in a collision between his motorcycle and a private car. Initial traffic investigations found the motorcycle rider swerved into the oncoming lane and struck the car head-on. Police said the driver of the car fled the scene, and investigators later determined the vehicle had been stolen from the Tel Aviv area days earlier.
Later in the day, three women aged 26, 55 and about 50 were killed in a multi-vehicle crash involving a truck, a minibus and several private cars on Highway 77 In Northern Israel near the town of Zarzir. A 39-year-old woman was seriously injured, another was moderately hurt, and five others sustained light injuries.
Magen David Adom (MDA) personnel described a chaotic scene with victims trapped inside vehicles. “This is a very serious traffic accident involving a minibus, a truck and several vehicles,” said emergency medics Daniel Moyal and Eliyahu Rosenberg. “We immediately noticed the severity of the impact… three women were trapped inside, unconscious… we were forced to declare them dead.”
In Rishon Lezion, two men in their 20s were killed in a collision between two private vehicles. MDA teams also evacuated a 25-year-old man in serious condition with burns and two 18-year-old women in moderate condition to Wolfson Hospital in Holon and Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer.
In a separate crash on the Arava Highway near Moshav Ein Hatzva south of the Dead Sea, a man in his 50s was killed in a head-on collision between two vehicles. MDA evacuated a man in his 60s by helicopter in serious condition and a woman in her 60s in moderate condition.
The Israel Police said investigations are continuing at all scenes while traffic is being directed and roads reopened or partially closed as needed.
According to the Or Yarok Road Safety Association, 141 people have been killed in road accidents since the beginning of 2026, a 10% decrease compared to the same period in 2025.
“Another deadly day on the roads,” said CEO Yaniv Yaakov. “Without a multi-year national plan, road accidents are claiming victims and the negative trend is returning. The Minister of Transport and Road Safety must approve a plan that will save hundreds of lives.”
Police investigations into all the incidents are ongoing.
