2023 deadliest terror year since Second Intifada; 1 civilian killed per week on average

This year has seen numerous incidents in which pairs of siblings or parents and children were murdered in the same terror attack.

By Adina Katz, World Israel News

The year 2023 is shaping up to be one of the deadliest in terms of terror casualties for Israel in decades, with an average of one terror victim each week since January.

That average is in line with the bloody years of the Second Intifada, which occurred between 2000 and 2005.

Last year, 33 Israelis were murdered in terror attacks, but that number includes all casualties in 2022. Eight months into 2023, 34 people have already been killed.

Earlier this year, Israel saw one of the largest numbers of casualties in a single event since 2008. In January, a Palestinian gunman opened fire on worshippers and passerby near a Jerusalem synagogue on Shabbat. Seven people were killed, including a 14-year-old boy and a Ukrainian national.

This year has also seen numerous incidents in which pairs of siblings or parents and children were murdered in the same terror attack.

In early January, a terrorist rammed into a bus stop in Jerusalem, killing brothers Yaakov Yisrael Paley, 8, and Asher Menahem Paley, 6. The Paleys are the youngest victims of terror this year.

Brothers Hillel, 21, and Yagel, 19, Yaniv were killed at a junction in the terror hotbed of Huwara, after a terrorist rammed their vehicle then shot them at point-blank range in February.

Sisters Maia, 20, and Rina, 15, Dee were murdered alongside their mother, Lucy, 48, in April. They were shot by terrorists as they drove from their home in Efrat towards the Galilee for a Passover family vacation. The Dee family had immigrated from Britain and were dual UK-Israel nationals.

Last Saturday, father and son Shai Silas Nigrekar, 60, and Aviad Nir, 28, were shot to death while waiting for their car to be repaired at a garage in Huwara.

On Monday, preschool teacher Batsheva Nigri, 42, was shot to death in front of her six-year-old daughter while riding in a vehicle near Hebron.

Other victims of terror in 2023 include an Italian tourist who was mowed down by an Arab-Israeli terrorist while walking on Tel Aviv’s seafront promenade and American-Israeli Elan Ganeles, who was shot on a highway near Jericho while traveling to a wedding.