78-Year-Old Woman Robbed and Injured in Haifa, Family Says They Identified Suspect

A 78-year-old woman from Kiryat Eliezer in Haifa was injured on Thursday morning after, according to her family, two young men followed her from a supermarket, one of them snatched her bag, and she fell to the ground near her home. The family says the attack happened around 9:00 a.m. after she had gone shopping in the Center Lin area and was walking back home.

Her granddaughter, Tali, said the woman was left bruised on one side and is in “very difficult” emotional condition. The bag allegedly contained a mobile phone, credit cards, an ID card, and other personal documents, and it has not yet been found.

The family claims police did not provide meaningful updates, so they searched for security cameras themselves, collected footage, and posted images of the suspects online. Tali said the footage showed the men following her grandmother from the store to her building. She added that people began calling after recognizing one suspect, which led her to his parents.

Tali said she first contacted the suspect’s mother, who replied that she and her son would report to police the next day. She then received a message from the father saying, “I found out my son is a criminal, he ruined our lives and his own life,” and, “We will do everything possible. Right now we cannot find him.” Tali said, “We did the police’s job,” adding that families of victims should not have to do this themselves. Police rejected the claim that they had not acted, saying that after the report was received, they opened an investigation and are carrying out intensive steps to locate the suspect, including gathering evidence and downloading security camera footage from the scene. Haifa police said they are using all available resources to find the truth and bring the suspect to justice.