A Moroccan asylum seeker has been found guilty of murdering a stranger after telling police he had killed because “Israel was killing children” in Gaza.

Ahmed Alid stabbed Terence Carney, 70, who was out for a morning walk, in the street in Hartlepool, County Durham, last October. Alid, 45, had prowled the streets looking for a victim after repeatedly stabbing his housemate, Javed Nouri, 32, Teesside crown court in Middlesbrough heard.

Nouri, who survived the attack, had converted from Islam to Christianity and Alid viewed him as an apostate, prosecutors said.

As Alid was apprehended by police following the stabbings, bodyworn footage showed him talking in Arabic. What he said was translated for the jury: "For the people of Gaza inshallah [god willing].

"Inshallah Gaza will return to our country. I am Arab, I am Arab, I am Arab, it will return to Arab country. I am the son of Arabs, in the name of Allah."

During his police interview, Alid said: "The whole issue is for the independence of Palestine. To have two dead victims is better than more.

"It is between the Zionist entity and Hamas movement. They set a specific time for shooting and if this Zionist occupation does not leave, here in Britain there will be [a] flood, unrest."

Asked if he intended to kill more people, Alid said: "I swear by Allah if I had a machine gun and I had more weapons that they would be in thousands.”

At the end of his police interview, he attacked two officers, yelling "Palestine" and "Allahu Akbar" as he grabbed one of them and wrestled her to the ground.

During his trial, Alid admitted stabbing the men but claimed he had not intended to kill either of them and had “lost his mind”.

A jury found Alid guilty of murder, attempted murder and two charges of assaulting police officers.

In a statement, Carney's family said: "We would not want anyone else to have to go through what we have had to go through over the last six months, and what we will continue to go through for the rest of our lives. For us, things will never be the same again.

"We have watched the whole trial intently, and whilst today's guilty verdict will not bring back Terence our beloved husband, father, and grandfather, we can take some small comfort in knowing that justice has been served."