Three Israelis were killed in a shooting attack on a bus in the occupied West Bank on Monday. The attack, which also injured seven others, occurred in the village of Al-Funduq, near the Israeli settlement of Kedumim and the city of Qalqilya. The victims included two women in their 60s and a man in his 40s, according to Israeli rescue services.
The Israeli army reported that two armed Palestinian men opened fire on the bus, and forces have since closed checkpoints in the surrounding areas of Qalqilya and Nablus in search of the attackers.
In response, far-right Israeli ministers made calls to escalate measures. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich advocated for the demolition of Palestinian towns, while National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir urged the cessation of cooperation with the Palestinian Authority (PA), accusing it of supporting terrorism.
Following the attack, Israeli settlers launched retaliatory attacks on Palestinian vehicles near Burin, south of Nablus, and also targeted the Bardala Mixed Secondary School in the northern West Bank.
Meanwhile, violence continues in Gaza, where Israeli shelling on Monday morning killed at least 14 people. This includes airstrikes and drone strikes that left several dead, including a child. Ceasefire negotiations in Doha, Qatar, have been ongoing, with reports suggesting an agreement on the release of 34 hostages in the first phase. However, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has yet to confirm whether the hostages are alive.
The conflict in Gaza, which has lasted for 15 months, has resulted in over 45,800 deaths and more than 109,000 injuries.