Stabbing attacks, which have been used as a tactic for thousands of years, became an increasingly common form of terrorism targeting random civilians in the 21st century, in particular during the 2010s and 2020s.
"[2] The magazine urged Muslims to kill "the intelligentsia, economic and influential personalities of America," by low-tech methods including stabbing attacks on the grounds that such assaults are "easy options that do not require huge efforts or man power, but the result is parallel to the big operations or even more.
"[2][3] In October 2016, Rumiyah, the online propaganda and recruitment magazine published by the Islamic State (IS) told followers that holy warriors down through Muslim history have "struck the necks of the kuffar" in the name of Allah, with "swords, severing limbs and piercing the fleshy meat of those who opposed Islam."
[5] According to Juan Romero, this resurgence emerged first with the GIA in the 1990s and later among Palestinian terrorists and Islamic State militants in the 21st century.
[7] The ensuing 2015–2016 wave of violence in Israeli-Palestinian conflict is thought to have been driven not by formal organizations but, rather by social media postings inspiring young Palestinians to undertake attacks with knives and with vehicles.