ROME (AP) — A driver plowed into pedestrians in the northern Italian city of Modena on Saturday, injuring eight people, four of them critically, before trying to flee and being detained by police, local authorities said. They said the man was known to officials for having mental disorders.
Authorities identified the driver as Salim El Koudri, a 31-year-old second-generation Italian born in Bergamo and living in the province of Modena. El Koudri, who holds a degree in economics, is unemployed, authorities said. He was detained and questioned at police headquarters in Modena as investigators tried to determine whether he acted deliberately.
Investigators said at a press conference Saturday evening there was no immediate indication the man was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. His home was searched as part of the investigation.
Modena Prefect Fabrizia Triolo said el Koudri had been known to local mental health services for schizoid disorders, while officials stressed that early findings pointed to possible mental instability but required further verification. No links to extremist groups emerged.
Mayor Massimo Mezzetti said no one was killed in the dramatic crash but four victims were in serious condition. He said a woman was pinned against a shop window and required the amputation of both legs.
Mezzetti said the vehicle entered one of the city’s main streets and the man “drove onto the sidewalk, sending several people flying,” before crashing into the shop window.
Victims were taken to hospitals in Modena and Bologna, including by helicopter for the most critical cases.
El Koudri attempted to flee but was stopped first by some of the citizens involved in the crash and then by police and taken to headquarters for questioning.
Witnesses reported the man was holding a knife, but he did not manage to stab anyone, the mayor said, adding that investigators are still working to determine whether the act was deliberate or linked to other causes.
“Whatever the nature, it is a very serious act,” Mezzetti said. “If it were an attack, it would be even more serious.”
Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni called the incident “extremely serious” in a social media post and expressed solidarity with the victims and their families.
Meloni thanked citizens who intervened to help stop the suspect and praised law enforcement, adding she was in contact with local authorities and expected the suspect to be held fully accountable.
Emergency services, including police, carabinieri and financial police, responded to the scene, which was cordoned off as ambulances treated victims in the street.
Blood is seen next to a destroyed car on a street of Modena, Italy, Saturday, May 16, 2026. (Lapresse via AP)
Financial Police patrol a scene after a car incident in a street of Modena, Italy, Saturday, May 16, 2026. (Lapresse via AP)
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — An Israeli airstrike in Gaza killed the leader of Hamas’ military wing who was one of the last surviving architects of the attacks that triggered the war in late 2023, the Israeli military said Saturday. Hamas confirmed the death.
Izz al-Din al-Haddad was killed on Friday, Israel’s army said, describing him as one of the senior Hamas military commanders who directed the planning and execution of the Hamas-led attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, which killed around 1,200 people in southern Israel and saw more than 250 taken hostage.
A Hamas spokesperson, Hazem Qassem, confirmed the killing on social media.
The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas remains fragile, and the top diplomat overseeing it says it has stalled because of the deadlock over disarming Hamas. Both sides have traded accusations of violations. Gaza has seen near-daily Israeli fire with more than 850 people killed in the Palestinian territory since the ceasefire went into effect in October, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.
The ministry is part of Gaza’s Hamas-run government, but staffed by medical professionals who maintain and publish detailed records viewed as generally reliable by the international community. The ministry overall says Israel’s retaliatory strikes in the war have devastated the Palestinian enclave and killed more than 72,700 people.
Israel said that al-Haddad had assumed the role of Hamas commander after his predecessor, Mohammed Sinwar, was killed. The army said that al-Haddad had surrounded himself with Israeli hostages during the war as a shield against an attack.
Al-Haddad’s family confirmed his death in Friday's strike to The Associated Press. Six other people, including his wife and daughter, were also killed. His two sons were killed earlier in the war.
His body was wrapped in Hamas and Palestinian flags as it was carried by mourners at Saturday's funeral in Gaza City.
Al-Haddad joined Hamas when it was established in the 1980s, and was a member of the Qassam Brigades' Majd section tasked to go after collaborators with Israel. He was also a member of Hamas’ Military Council, the highest group of commanders that played a key role in the attacks that sparked the war.
Israel's army chief of staff called his killing a significant operation, and said that Israel would continue pursuing its enemies to hold them accountable.
Violence flared Saturday in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli troops shot and killed a 34-year-old Palestinian in the Jenin refugee camp, according to the Palestinian Health ministry.
Hassan Fayyad was fatally shot in a thigh, the Palestinian Red Crescent said. Israel's military said that troops first fired warning shots at a person trying to infiltrate the camp and shot him when he didn't comply. They provided him with medical treatment as he was transferred to a hospital, it said.
Israeli troops on Thursday shot and killed a 15-year-old boy in Eastern Lubban town in Nablus, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Israel's military said that it identified three people hurling rocks toward Israeli vehicles and “endangering lives,” and troops fired at them, killing one.
On Friday, settlers set fire to a mosque and vehicles in the village of Jibiya, northwest of Ramallah, Palestinian religious authorities said. Security camera footage showed people pouring flammable material on the mosque and at least two vehicles, said Sabir Shalash, the head of Jibiya’s municipal council. Spray-painted Hebrew slogans were found on the mosque’s walls, he said.
The Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs described the attack as “a cowardly terrorist act” and criticized the international community’s inaction over mounting Jewish settler attacks against Muslim and Christian sites in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The Israeli military and police said that they were deployed to the area and didn't locate any suspects, but were investigating. The army said that it “strongly condemns” attacks on religious institutions.
Samy Magdy reported from Cairo.
Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
Palestinians attend the funeral of Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the leader of Hamas’ Qassam Brigades, and his daughter and wife in Gaza City, Saturday, May 16, 2026. They were killed in an Israeli strike Friday evening. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinians place their hands on the body of Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the leader of Hamas' Qassam Brigades, draped in a Hamas flag during his funeral in Gaza City, Saturday, May 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinians carry the bodies of Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the leader of Hamas' Qassam Brigades, center, along with those of his daughter, right, and wife, who were killed in an Israeli strike, during their funeral in Gaza City, Saturday, May 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinians mourn over the body of Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the leader of Hamas' Qassam Brigades, during his funeral in Gaza City, Saturday, May 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinians place their hands on the body of Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the leader of Hamas' Qassam Brigades, draped in a Hamas flag during his funeral in Gaza City, Saturday, May 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinians search inside a burning vehicle following an Israeli strike in Gaza City, Friday, May 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinians gather around a vehicle struck by an Israeli strike in Gaza City, Friday, May 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinians carry the body of a person killed in Israeli airstrikes Friday targeting Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the leader of Hamas’ Qassam Brigades, during a funeral outside Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Saturday, May 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinians pray over the body of a person killed in Israeli airstrikes Friday targeting Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the leader of Hamas’ Qassam Brigades, during a funeral outside Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Saturday, May 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinians carry the body of a person killed in Israeli airstrikes Friday targeting Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the leader of Hamas’ Qassam Brigades, during a funeral outside Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Saturday, May 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
