The manhunt for the terrorist who brutally murdered an elderly woman in Holon on Tuesday afternoon ended on Wednesday morning when his body was found in an abandoned building in Tel Aviv. He had hanged himself to death.

The terrorist was identified as Mousa Sarsour, 28, from the PA city of Qalqilya. He had entered Israel legally with a work permit for a construction site in Holon. The police believe that after committing the murder, he traveled by bus to Tel Aviv, where he later killed himself.

According to media reports on Wednesday, the terrorist was stopped and questioned by police twice in recent weeks, once in Holon and once in Tel Aviv. Both times, his work and entry permits were found to be valid and he was found to have no prior security offenses.

The 84-year-old woman was identified on Wednesday morning as Shulamit Rochel Ovadia, h’yd, murdered only meters away from her home. She left behind a grieving husband, three children, and grandchildren.

A neighbor told Ynet: “I almost bumped into [the terrorist] on Thursday. He was sitting outside at 10:30 p.m. and smoking a cigarette. The moment they reported a terror attack, I immediately connected it to this man. I was sure it was him. I’m shocked and feel a complete lack of safety.”

Following the discovery of the murder on Tuesday, police officers and Shin Bet operatives launched an urgent manhunt, fearing the terrorist would carry out additional attacks. “Since the afternoon hours of Tuesday until this morning, Israel Police carried out urgent searches for the suspect in the murder of the elderly woman yesterday in Holon,” the police stated on Wednesday morning.”Throughout the night and also today, police officers and detectives, dog handlers, and other special units were deployed, along with security forces, in extensive search efforts for the suspect.”

“A short time ago, the body of a man was found on Bar Kochva Street in Tel Aviv, and a preliminary examination shows that it is the body of the murder suspect.”

The terrorist had bludgeoned Ovadia, a’h, to death next to the construction site he was working at. Footage from security cameras showed the terrorist using an iron bar that he presumably took from the construction site to beat her to death.

His relatives told Ynet that he was recently suffering from mental issues as a result of drugs. “He was a very shy and quiet person, he barely even spoke to his family,” they said.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)