At least 3 people were shot dead on a bus transporting Israelis in the West Bank

Gunmen opened fire on a bus carrying Israelis in the West Bank on Monday, killing at least three people and wounding seven others.

The attack took place in the Palestinian village of Al-Funduq, on one of the main east-west roads that cross the area. Israel’s rescue unit, Magen David Adom, said two women in their 60s and a man in their 40s were killed, while the military said they were searching for the attackers.

Palestinians have carried out a series of shootings, stabbings and car attacks against Israelis in recent years, with violence intensifying in the area since Hamas led an offensive in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Israel launched an almost overnight military offensive in the area that is often prone to gunfire. There has also been a sharp increase in attacks on Palestinians by Israeli settlers, which has led the United States to impose sanctions.

The Ministry of Health in Palestine says that at least 838 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank since the start of the war in Gaza. Most appear to have been soldiers killed in clashes with Israeli forces, but the dead included participants in violent protests and bystanders.

Netanyahu vows to arrest the attackers

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that he would “reach out to the innocent killers” after Monday’s attack and “talk to them and everyone who helped them. No one will be left behind.”

Hamas praised the attack in a statement but did not claim responsibility for it.

Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem in the 1967 war in the Mideast, and the Palestinians want all three areas as their future state.

Another three million Palestinians live in the West Bank under Israel’s seemingly open military regime, where the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority runs population centers.

More than 500,000 residents with Israeli citizenship live in more than 100 settlements throughout the region, from small hilltop settlements to sprawling communities that resemble suburbs or small towns. Most of the international community considers illegal settlements.

Meanwhile, the war in Gaza is suddenly worsening, although there have been reports of recent progress in long-running talks aimed at an end to the shooting and the release of hostages.

Israeli air and ground attacks have killed more than 45,800 Palestinians in Gaza, according to local health authorities, with women and children accounting for more than half of those killed. They did not say how many of the dead were soldiers. The Israeli army claims to have killed more than 17,000 soldiers, without providing evidence.

The first surprise attack in Israel about 15 months ago killed about 1,200 people, including several Canadian citizens. Another 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third of whom the Israeli government believes are dead.

Hamas has suffered heavy losses but has regrouped several times after the Israeli operation. The military fired three bombs into Israel from Gaza on Monday, one of which was intercepted, the military said. There were no reports of injuries.

The war has devastated many areas of Gaza and displaced 90 percent of its 2.3 million residents, often multiple times. Hundreds of thousands endured the cold, rainy winter in tented camps on the windy coast.

Aid groups say Israeli restrictions, ongoing fighting and the breakdown of law and order in many areas make it difficult to deliver much-needed food and other aid.