Two Additional Minors Arrested as Suspect Count Reaches Thirteen in Fatal Petah Tikva Stabbing

Police nab two more minors for the fatal stabbing of Yemanu Zelka in Petah Tikva. Total suspects rise to 13 as video evidence shows a group ambush.

By: AXL Media

Published: Apr 29, 2026, 4:44 PM EDT

Source: Information for this report was sourced from Times of Israel

Expansion of the Murder Investigation

Law enforcement authorities have announced the arrest of two additional suspects in the ongoing investigation into the death of Yemanu Zelka. These latest detainees, residents of Petah Tikva and Hadera, bring the total number of individuals in custody to thirteen. The investigation focuses on a violent confrontation that occurred outside a Pizza Hut branch, where Zelka was employed, during the celebrations of Independence Day eve.

Details of the Fatal Confrontation

The incident reportedly began when Zelka, 21, requested that a group of teenagers stop using party spray inside the establishment where he was finishing his shift. According to investigators, the encounter escalated into a coordinated ambush captured on surveillance cameras. The footage depicts a group of youths surrounding the young man and engaging in a physical assault before a lethal weapon was introduced into the fray.

Surveillance Evidence of the Assault

Visual evidence from the scene reveals a high level of violence, showing the group beating Zelka before one member of the assembly produced a knife and inflicted a fatal wound. Even after the stabbing occurred, several individuals continued to strike the victim as he lay on the ground. The assailants fled the scene, leaving Zelka to bleed out before emergency services could transport him to a hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries the following day.