A deadly gun assault in the northern West Bank on Monday morning resulted in the deaths of three Israelis and injuries to eight others. The attack targeted a bus and various vehicles. Both the Israeli military and emergency services have confirmed this information. Following the assault, rescue teams rushed to the scene and recovered the bodies of the three victims. Among the deceased, two were women in their sixties, and the man was in his forties. The bus driver sustained serious injuries and was transported to the hospital, along with several others who were hospitalized, although the condition of some of the injured was not deemed critical.
The Israeli military stated that the assailants opened fire on vehicles traveling along Highway 55 near the village of Al-Fanduk in the West Bank before fleeing the scene. In response, security forces initiated a manhunt and carried out operations in multiple cities. They have set up roadblocks and encircled several towns.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to take severe action against the perpetrators and their collaborators. In a social media post, he asserted, "These murderers and their accomplices will not escape punishment."
The Palestinian militant group Hamas has lauded the attack as retaliation for Israel's ongoing "atrocities," although no group has yet claimed responsibility for the assault.
Violence in the West Bank has escalated since the catastrophic Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, which resulted in the deaths of over a hundred Palestinians and dozens of Israelis. Since that attack, the ongoing conflict between the two sides has further destabilized the region.
Additionally, the Palestinian Ministry of Health reported on Sunday that two Palestinians were killed in an Israeli military assault in the West Bank. With violence on the rise in the region, new incidents are occurring daily, raising growing concerns within the international community.
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