Israeli Girl, 13, Stabbed to Death in Her Own Bed

A 13-year-old Israeli girl is dead after a Palestinian man entered her home and stabbed her in her bed, police say. Hallel Ariel's mother says the girl was "happy" and "sleeping calmly" in her bedroom in the Jewish settlement of Kiryat Arba in the West Bank when the man stabbed her several times in the upper body, per the BBC and Jerusalem Post. A security guard who responded to the scene was stabbed in the face and shot—accidentally by other guards, per the Times of Israel—before the attacker was killed. The guard was taken to a hospital in serious condition but has since been upgraded. Hallel was pronounced dead soon after arrival.

"The girl was unconscious, without a pulse, and not breathing," a medic says. The Palestinian health ministry identifies the attacker as Mohammed Tarayreh—either 17 or 19—from the adjacent village of Bani Naim. Authorities say he climbed a fence surrounding Kiryat Arba, alerting the Israel Defense Forces. Responding officers then heard screams coming from Hallel's home, which is just inside the barrier. The IDF—which released a photo of Hallel's blood-stained bedroom—are now questioning members of the attacker's family, reports Haaretz. The local government says all Arab workers have been removed from the settlement, per the Times. (More West Bank stories.)