Harav Amos Gueta z”l, a well-known mekubal and Rosh Yeshivah in Netanya, was tragically murdered Wednesday morning after being stabbed inside a shul in the city. He was 75.

MDA received a report at approximately 5:45 a.m. of a man who had been wounded on Rebbe Shimon Bar Yochai Street. MDA motorcycle unit medic Maor Brantz and paramedic Yonatan Yankelevich said they found the victim unconscious, without a pulse or breathing, with serious penetrating wounds to his body. They administered CPR and transported him to Laniado Hospital, where doctors fought for his life before he was pronounced dead.

According to initial findings, the suspect is one of the Rav’s own chasidim, apparently mentally unstable. Eyewitnesses said he demanded to daven together with the Rav, then approached him, stabbed him multiple times, and fled. A wide manhunt is currently underway.

Israel Police said officers from the Sharon district have opened an investigation into the circumstances of the violent incident and that criminal investigators are collecting evidence at the scene.

Netanya Mayor Avi Salma mourned the Rav’s petirah, calling him “a great luminary and a pillar of Torah and chesed in the city” who “illuminated the path of tens of thousands of residents for many years” and sending condolences to his wife Rebbetzin Chaviva and the family.

Shas issued a statement saying the party was “shaken to the depths of our souls,” describing the Rav as an outstanding talmid chacham who spent decades bringing Jews closer to Torah, particularly within the Libyan Jewish community, alongside his colleague Harav Shimon Gabai z”l.