JERUSALEM / ISTANBUL

Two Israelis were killed and two others wounded in a ramming and stabbing attack Friday in the northern Israeli city of Beit She'an, police said.

Preliminary findings indicate that the incident began when a pedestrian was struck by a vehicle in Beit She’an, followed by the stabbing of a young woman along Highway 71, police said in a statement.

The suspect was later “neutralized” by a passerby near a student housing intersection in the city of Afula, the statement said.

Police said the attacker was a Palestinian from the occupied West Bank. He was taken to a hospital with moderate injuries, and investigations were underway at all locations linked to the attack.

Following the attack, the Israeli army launched a military offensive in the town of Qabatiya of the northern West Bank.

A military statement said soldiers are currently conducting “precise operational searches” in the attacker’s home, without giving further details.

The Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper identified the attacker as Ahmad Abu al-Rob, 37, saying his father was arrested by army forces.

Local sources confirmed that four Israeli military vehicles and a bulldozer raided the town, with soldiers deployed across its streets, and snipers taking positions on the rooftops of several buildings.

Israel’s public broadcaster KAN reported that Israeli forces plan to impose a mobile security cordon on Qabatiya for several days, which will include tightened restrictions on movement in and out of the town.