Just a week after Hamas’ deadly raid into Israel on 7 October, the conflict in the Middle East inspired a terror attack in a northern English town. Ahmed Alid, today sentenced to 45 years in prison for the attack, directly invoked Gaza as he stabbed two people. He maimed Javed Nouri, a fellow asylum seeker with whom he shared Home Office-approved accommodation in Hartlepool before killing 70-year-old Terence Carney when he found him in the street. It was a brutal rampage by a man ‘hell-bent’ on violence. The judge described the murder as ‘a terrorist act’.

Alid burst into his housemate’s room, stabbing as he slept, yelling ‘Allahu Akbar’ as he did so

The details of his rampage are horrifying. Alid first burst into his housemate’s room, stabbing him repeatedly as he slept. He yelled ‘Allahu Akbar’ as he did so. He then left the shared house, prowling the streets for more victims. He found Mr Carney out for his regular morning walk and set upon the elderly man in the street. He was apprehended by police later, looking for further victims with a knife still tucked in his waistband.

When under arrest, he was uncowed and unrepentant. Police said he made clear that he wanted to kill more. He reportedly gave a speech in Arabic, calling for Gaza to ‘be an Arab country’, later telling police his actions were because: ‘Israel had killed innocent children’. More chillingly, he claimed he would have continued his........

© The Spectator