Ibrahim Shalhoub, from the West Bank city of Tulkarem, was sentenced to life in prison on Sunday for killing 83-year-old Holocaust survivor Ludmila Lipovsky in a terror attack in Herzliya in December 2024.
Shalhoub, a former informant for the Shin Bet domestic security service, was indicted on terror charges in January 2025, a month after he stabbed Lipovsky multiple times outside of her assisted living complex.
The indictment said that Shalhoub “drew his knife and stabbed [Lipovsky in the upper body approximately 11 times,” while calling out “Allah is great” and praying in Arabic.
Shalhoub continued to stab Lipovsky until he was shot and wounded by a security guard from the Israel Post office who had been nearby.
The Tel Aviv District Court sentenced Shalhoub to life in prison, as well as awarding damages of NIS 258,000 ($81,000), the highest allowed, according to the Ynet news site.
Get The Times of Israel’s Daily Edition
by email and never miss our top stories
By signing up, you agree to the terms
Shalhoub, 28, was allowed to leave Tulkarem and take up residency in Israel after his identity as a Shin Bet informant was exposed. According to the indictment, his family severed all ties with him shortly after he moved, and he decided to carry out a terror attack.
Ludmila Lipovsky (Courtesy)
Two days before murdering Lipovsky, Shalhoub purchased a long kitchen knife with which to carry out the attack. He then spent the next day in Herzliya, scoping out an appropriate site for his attack, before settling on an assisted living complex in the city.
The following day, he armed himself with his new knife and one other knife, and made his way to the site he had inspected the previous day.
Lipovsky was outside when he arrived, having just left the complex to wait for her daughter, who was supposed to be driving her to an appointment.
Shalhoub stabbed her multiple times.
Lipovsky was rushed by the Magen David Adom ambulance service to Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, where doctors pronounced her dead.
Israeli police check the scene of a deadly terror stabbing attack in Herzliya, north of Tel Aviv, on December 27, 2024. (Jack GUEZ / AFP)
According to the Ynet news site, the Shin Bet concluded in an initial investigation that Shalhoub was not planning the attack for any significant length of time before carrying it out.
The security agency also stressed in the aftermath of the attack that its informants work in dangerous conditions on behalf of the State of Israel and that there had never before been an incident in which a former informant carried out a terror attack after moving to Israel.
Jeremy Sharon and Emanuel Fabian contributed to this report.
Is The Times of Israel important to you?
If so, we have a year-end request.
Every day during the past two years of war and rising global antisemitism, our journalists kept you abreast of the most important developments that merit your attention. Millions of people rely on ToI for fact-based coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
We care about Israel – and we know you do too. So as 2025 draws to a close, we have an ask: show your appreciation for our work by joining The Times of Israel Community, an exclusive group for readers like you who appreciate and financially support our work.
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You appreciate our journalism
You clearly find our careful reporting valuable, in a time when facts are often distorted and news coverage often lacks context.
Your support is essential to continue our work. We want to continue delivering the professional journalism you value, even as the demands on our newsroom have grown dramatically since October 7.
So today, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6 a month you’ll become our partners while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this