A man was killed in a car explosion in Afula, in northern Israel, and a woman was found dead in an apartment in nearby Haifa on Tuesday, both of them apparently the latest victims of an unrelenting crime wave that has swept Israel in recent months.
The Magen David Adom emergency service said it received a report at 8:40 a.m. about a vehicle that had exploded in Afula, and dispatched medics to the scene.
Medics found the man in his 30s unconscious and suffering from multi-system injuries. They attempted to resuscitate him en route to HaEmek Medical Center, but he succumbed to his wounds.
At the same time, police officers arrived at the site of the blast and opened an investigation, while the Fire and Rescue Service worked to extinguish the blaze caused by the explosion and prevent it from spreading to nearby houses.
Police suspect the motive behind the blast is criminal, rather than nationalistic.
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Elsewhere in northern Israel, a woman, aged around 50, was found dead in an apartment in Haifa, in an incident police are treating as a suspected homicide.
Three residents of the city have been arrested on suspicion of involvement in the woman’s death, police said. According to Channel 12, the woman’s husband is one of three detained suspects.
Her body was transferred to the Abu Kabir forensic institute to determine the cause of her death.
Emergency services at the scene of a car blast in Afula, northern Israel, on May 26, 2026. (Magen David Adom)
The two incidents were the latest in a deadly wave of crime that has predominantly impacted Israel’s Arab community, but which has claimed Jewish lives as well.
Government critics have blamed National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and the Israel Police for failing to tackle the out-of-control violence. Justice Minister Yariv Levin has also been criticized for refusing to fill dozens of empty judicial posts, hampering enforcement efforts.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
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