Eighty-three-year-old Holocaust survivor Ludmila Lipovsky was murdered in a terror stabbing attack outside her nursing home in Herzliya on Friday morning. Security guards neutralized the attacker before arresting him.
Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv confirmed that Lipovsky was pronounced dead on arrival.
The Israel Police designated the incident as a terror attack after officers, along with MDA paramedics, arrived at the scene.
An initial investigation revealed that the terrorist was a Palestinian resident of the West Bank city of Tulkarm who had previously served a prison sentence in Israel. The Shin Bet added that the suspect was a former Shin Bet aide who had helped thwart terrorism in the West Bank.
The suspect's collaboration with the Shin Bet was later exposed and he was transferred for rehabilitation in Israel. He has now been transferred to the Shin Bet for questioning.
The commander of Tel Aviv district police, Superintendent Haim Sargaroff, said that the security guards at the scene lept into action after they heard the terrorist shout "Allahu Akbar."
The Jerusalem Post found on Yad Vashem's database that Ludmila Lipofsky was born in Buy, Russia on 11 November 1941, and was in Samarkand, Uzbekistan during the war. After the war, she was registered as being in Israel. She was registered as being born during evacuation.
Michael Dickson, the director of Stand With Us tweeted that the Holocaust survivor was waiting for her daughter to take her to the doctor when she was killed.
Here’s how cowardly Palestinian terrorists are: today’s victim was an 83-year-old Holocaust survivor, Ludmila Lipovsky. She lived in an assisted living facility, and was waiting for her daughter to take her to the doctor. The jihadi stabbed her to death 6 times, murdering her. pic.twitter.com/CANLdvWp0F
— Michael Dickson (@michaeldickson) December 27, 2024
Yisrael Beyteinu chair Avigdor Liberman said "there are no words to describe the pain and sorrow in this shocking case."
Details of the attack
MDA Paramedic Idan Shina and MDA EMT Elon Boaron, who were the first to arrive at the scene, said teams arrived to find the elderly woman lying unconscious with stab wounds. The paramedics stopped the bleeding, resuscitated her, treated her with medication, and evacuated her.
The incident occurred on Herzliya's Kdoshei Hashoah Street [Holocaust Martyrs Street].
"Aside from the woman, there were no other casualties," said MDA spokesperson Zaki Heller after paramedics arrived at the scene.
צרחות וקולות ירי: רגעי ניטרול המפגע מהרצליה | תיעוד(צילום: שימוש לפי סעיף 27 א' לזכויות היוצרים) pic.twitter.com/9JavTWgQmm
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) December 27, 2024
The Israel Police said that forces located and arrested the suspect and that Police Commissioner Danny Levy then arrived at the scene.
"The circumstances of the incident are being investigated," the Police added.