Israeli officials say three people have been killed in a shootout in the West Bank, with soldiers “pursuing terrorists”

in Jerusalem – Gunmen opened fire on Monday at a bus and other vehicles near a West Bank town that was attacked by Israel, killing three people and wounding seven, said the Israeli Defense Forces and emergency services. Violence in the West Bank has escalated since war in Gaza it broke out on October 7, 2023, after a terrorist attack by Hamas in Israel.

“Paramedics have confirmed the death of three victims, including two women and a man,” said paramedic Magen David Adom.

The IDF said the soldiers “chased the terrorists” who carried out the incident near the village of Al-Funduq.

“We will reach out to the innocent killers and hold them, as well as anyone who helped them, accountable,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement from his office. “No one will be left behind.”

Magen David Adom said emergency services are providing assistance to seven people on the bus, including the driver who is in critical condition. The two women killed in this incident are in their 60s, while the man was around 40, MDA reported.

“This was a terrible attack that spread to many places where cars and a bus were shot,” emergency operator Avichai Ben Zruya said in a statement. “While searching for the injured, we found two women in their 60s in the car, unconscious without driving or breathing, with gunshot wounds.”

The military said the soldiers had set up roadblocks and surrounded several nearby towns to arrest the attackers.

Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said he had ordered the military to “work hard” to find the attackers.

“We will not tolerate the likes of Gaza in Judea and Samaria (West Bank), and anyone who follows the path of Hamas in Gaza and commits or protects the killing and injury of Jews will pay a heavy price,” said Ben Gvir. X.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who is also a far-right member of the ruling coalition, also warned of dire consequences after the attack.

“Funduq, Nablus, and Jenin should look like Jabalia,” he said in a statement, referring to a now-destroyed city in northern Gaza“so that (the central Israeli city) Kfar Saba does not, God forbid, become the next Gaza.”

Violence in the West Bank since the start of the war in Gaza. Israeli soldiers or settlers have killed at least 818 Palestinians in the West Bank since the war began, according to the Ramallah-based health ministry. Palestinian attacks on Israel have killed at least 25 people in the West Bank during the same period, according to official Israeli figures.

The IDF continued its intense operations in Gaza during the holidays, receiving warnings from the United Nations and humanitarian groups in particular. over attacks on hospitals and camps for homeless residents.

The talks led by the US and its partners in the region to stop fighting in the war have repeatedly strengthened the hope that an agreement is close, but speaking on Monday during a visit to South Korea, Secretary of State Antony. Blinken admitted it might not happen to seal a peace deal before the end of President Biden’s term on Jan. 20.

President-elect Donald Trump is expected to show sympathy with the Israeli government in this war, which he said will end soon, although he did not give an indication of how he will succeed.