Gangland shootings claimed the lives of a teen and two others in the Arab Israeli community within hours on Monday, in what President Isaac Herzog lamented as a “national scourge.”

Just five days into the new year, the homicides brought the death toll from violent crime in Arab society to seven, continuing a wave of killings that saw 2025 end with a record 252 deaths.

The violence began in the early evening when a father and son were shot dead in Nazareth in what was reportedly an underworld hit that mistakenly targeted them.

The two victims were named in Hebrew media reports as Adham Nasser, 38, and his son Nadim, 15, residents of the northern Arab town of Tur’an.

The Israel Police said the shooting was related to the criminal underworld, ruling out terrorism. The force said it was probing the motive for the shooting.

Paramedics found the victims unconscious and without vital signs, both suffering from several bullet wounds.

The youth was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics, while his father was rushed to the Italian Hospital in the city, but succumbed to his wounds on the way.

According to reports, the pair were installing security cameras at a home in Nazareth, Israel’s largest Arab-majority city.

The home belonged to a known criminal figure, Channel 13 reported, without citing sources.

As they stepped outside, a volley of shots was fired at........

© The Times of Israel