Only a few moments passed between a frantic phone call from a concerned citizen to the police hotline and a dramatic stabbing terror attack in the city of Lod. Security camera footage, published for the first time, documents the high-stakes moments when a Yasam special forces officer encountered the terrorist, identified as 28-year-old Sami Ahmad Jaasous from Lod, seconds before the suspect attempted to stab him. The footage shows the special forces officer receiving a radio report about a suspicious individual carrying a knife, prompting him to exit his patrol vehicle and begin scanning the immediate area before the terrorist suddenly emerged and charged at him with a blade in hand.
The officer called out for the suspect to stop, but the terrorist continued to sprint directly toward him in an attempt to launch an assault. According to police statements, the attacker tried to stab the officer, who was already at a very short distance from him. A physical struggle quickly developed between the two men, during which the officer managed to push the terrorist back, aggressively engaged the suspect, and fired his weapon until the threat was neutralized. None of the security forces on the scene sustained any injuries during the violent encounter.
A short time prior to the confrontation, a critical phone call was received at the police emergency hotline from a local citizen who spotted the suspicious individual near a school. The citizen told the dispatcher that she was walking through Lod and saw someone sitting on the ground with a knife in his hand, adding that he was simply waiting there. When the dispatcher asked for the exact address, the caller replied that she was near a school and that the suspect was just sitting there and banging the knife against the ground. The dispatcher immediately transferred the details to dispatch a patrol vehicle.
Following the citizen report, police officers from the Lod station rushed to the area to locate the armed suspect. According to the police account, when officers ordered the suspect to halt, he immediately began to flee on foot, running until he collided directly with the special forces team and attempted to execute the stabbing attack. The initial operational assumption among security agencies is that the suspect intentionally sought to harm security personnel.
The Israel Police and the Shin Bet security service are continuing to investigate the exact circumstances surrounding the incident. The current baseline assumption is that this was a planned terror attack, and the joint investigation is moving forward along national security lines while examining all potential angles. Central District Commander, Superintendent Amir Cohen, stated that the investigation is continuing in accordance with the situational assessment on the terror track, and at the conclusion of the investigation, authorities will hold a joint situational assessment with the Shin Bet. The commander also emphasized that he fully backs the officer who acted under a perceived threat to his life.
