Canadian attempts knife attack on Israeli security unit and is shot dead, authorities say

NETIV HAASARA, Israel (Reuters) – A Canadian citizen was shot dead after attempting to attack an armed civilian security unit with a knife in southern Israel near the border with the Gaza Strip, Israeli authorities said on Monday.

The incident occurred at the entrance to Netiv HaAsara, a town where security measures have been tightened since Hamas-led militants killed around 20 people there in their October 7 rampage in southern Israel that sparked the Gaza war.

The Israeli military said the suspect “got out of his vehicle and threatened members of the municipality’s rapid response team operating in the area with a knife.”

“The rapid response team responded with fire and neutralized the suspect. No injuries were reported to security forces,” the military said.

A police spokesman said the attacker was a Canadian citizen.

Reuters television footage showed the body – apparently that of the suspected attacker – being placed in an ambulance.

(Reporting by Amir Cohen and Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Alison Williams, Bernadette Baum, Peter Graff)