A Young Man from Shaqib al-Salam Killed in Stabbing Incident and Five Suspects Arrested

SadaNews - A young man, Maari al-Diyari (36 years old), from the town of Shaqib al-Salam, was killed this evening, Sunday, in a stabbing murder that occurred in the city of Ofakim in the Negev region.

Emergency crews reported that they received a notification at 18:50 about an injured person due to an act of violence, and medical teams rushed to the scene.

They stated that the paramedics found the injured person unconscious, suffering from critical injuries to his body. Despite resuscitation attempts, he died immediately.

One of the paramedics said that the team began resuscitation efforts upon their arrival, "but in the end, we had no choice but to declare the death at the scene."

In a later development, the police announced the arrest of five suspects, who are Arabs residing in Ofakim, on suspicion of being involved in the crime, shortly after its occurrence, following the collection of evidence from the crime scene.

77 Fatalities So Far in 2026

The death toll from murder crimes in the Arab community has risen to 77 since the beginning of the year 2026, following the announcement of the young man's murder from Shaqib al-Salam.

This crime comes amid a rising tide of violence and crime, claiming more lives and causing concern within the Arab community, noting that among the victims is a person from the West Bank who was killed in Nazareth.

Since the beginning of April, three people have been killed, with the total figure including five women and three young men killed by police gunfire, in addition to three boys under the age of 18. This statistic does not include the city of occupied Jerusalem.

This occurs against a backdrop of unprecedented rises in violence and crime in the Arab community, amid increasing demands for Israeli authorities to take serious steps to halt the proliferation of weapons and combat organized crime.

It is worth noting that the year 2025 recorded a record number of murders, totaling 252 Arab fatalities, amid ongoing accusations against the Israeli police of failing to provide security and safety for Arab citizens.