Tel Aviv, April 23 -- Two men were shot dead in a late-night attack in the central Israeli city of Lod on Wednesday night, in what police say may be linked to an ongoing criminal feud, as the year's death toll from surging Israeli-Arab violence climbed 93.

The victims, identified as Mu'atz Abu Laban, 39, and Muhammad Abdel Hadi, 30, were inside a car at a highway junction when gunmen opened fire from a passing vehicle, according to an initial police assessment.

The driver was critically wounded while the second man attempted to flee, but was shot and killed on the roadway, authorities said. Emergency responders who arrived shortly afterward found both men unresponsive with severe injuries.

"We saw two men in their 30s lying unconscious...