Amman: ‘Stabbing Attack’ on Tourists in Jerash

Tourists were airlifted to King Hussein Medical Centre in Amman following the incident. (Reuters: Muhammad Hamed)
Tourists were airlifted to King Hussein Medical Centre in Amman following the incident. (Reuters: Muhammad Hamed)
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Amman: ‘Stabbing Attack’ on Tourists in Jerash

Tourists were airlifted to King Hussein Medical Centre in Amman following the incident. (Reuters: Muhammad Hamed)
Tourists were airlifted to King Hussein Medical Centre in Amman following the incident. (Reuters: Muhammad Hamed)

The Jordanian authorities arrested Wednesday a man after stabbing four Jordanians, including a security officer, a tour guide and a bus driver, in addition to three Mexican tourists and a Swiss woman in Jerash, north of the country.

Jordanian tour guide Zouheir Zreiqat witnessed the attack and told AFP that it happened "just before midday when around 100 foreign tourists" were at the site.

"A bearded man in his twenties wearing black and brandishing a knife started to stab tourists," Zreiqat said.

He said others started to shout for help and he, along with three other tour guides and three tourists managed to stop the assailant.

"We took the knife from him. He stayed silent, without saying a word until the police arrived and arrested him," Zreiqat said.

Health Minister Saad Jaber confirmed that eight people had been wounded and had been transported to the hospital for treatment. The minister said that four of the victims "suffered moderate to severe wounds, while the other four had minor injuries."

"A Mexican tourist in serious condition and a Jordanian tour guide" were transferred via helicopter to the King Hussein Medical Center in Amman, he added.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi telephoned his Swiss counterpart Ignazio Cassis and deputy Mexican foreign secretary Julian Ventura to assure them Jordan was caring for their country's citizens and that they would be kept abreast of the results of investigations.

Moreover, an official from the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs denounced the stabbing, wishing the injured a speedy recovery.

It was not the first time a Jordanian tourist attraction has witnessed an attack.

In December 2016, in Karak, 10 people were killed in an attack claimed by ISIS that also left 34 wounded.

Four violent incidents struck the country the same year, including a suicide attack in June claimed by ISIS that killed seven Jordanian border guards near the frontier with Syria.



Katz Warns Hezbollah Against Joining Conflict with Iran

A police officer inspects fragments of missile parts on the ground at an impact site following Iran's missile strike on Israel, in Be'er Sheva, Israel, June 20, 2025. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
A police officer inspects fragments of missile parts on the ground at an impact site following Iran's missile strike on Israel, in Be'er Sheva, Israel, June 20, 2025. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
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Katz Warns Hezbollah Against Joining Conflict with Iran

A police officer inspects fragments of missile parts on the ground at an impact site following Iran's missile strike on Israel, in Be'er Sheva, Israel, June 20, 2025. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
A police officer inspects fragments of missile parts on the ground at an impact site following Iran's missile strike on Israel, in Be'er Sheva, Israel, June 20, 2025. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Lebanon's Hezbollah to exercise caution on Friday, saying Israel's patience with "terrorists" who threaten it had worn thin.

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said on Thursday that the Lebanese group would act as it saw fit in the face of what he called "brutal Israeli-American aggression" against Iran.

In other statements, the group has made no explicit pledge to join the fighting. But it has condemned Israel’s surprise strikes on Iran that sparked the conflict and endorsed Iran’s missile barrages over Israel.

"I suggest the Lebanese proxy be cautious and understand that Israel has lost patience with terrorists who threaten it,” Katz said in a statement on Friday, adding that "if there is terrorism -- there will be no Hezbollah."

Qassem “is not learning a lesson from his predecessors and is threatening to act against Israel in accordance with the Iranian dictator's orders,” Katz stated.

He said on Thursday that Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, “cannot continue to exist.”