On Monday, attackers opened fire on a bus carrying Israelis in the occupied West Bank, 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 crossing the territory. Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service said two 60-year-old women and a 40-year-old man were killed, and the military said it was searching for the attackers.
Palestinians have carried out dozens of gun, knife and car-ramming attacks against Israelis in recent years, and violence in the territory has escalated since Hamas led an attack in southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
Israel has carried out near-nightly military raids across its territory, which often lead to shootouts with militants. There has also been a sharp increase in Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians, prompting the United States to impose sanctions.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health says at least 838 Palestinians have died as a result of Israeli shelling in the West Bank since the beginning of the Gaza war. Most of them are fighters beaten in battles with Israeli troops, but the victims also include participants in violent protests and civilians.
Netanyahu promises to catch the attackers
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to “reach out to the despicable murderers” behind Monday's attack and “settle accounts with them and with all those who helped them. No one will be spared.”
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 Middle East war, and the Palestinians want all three territories for their future state.
Palestinians living in the occupied West Bank say Israeli settler tactics have become more extreme in the past year. Margaret Evans and the CBC News team traveled to the South Hebron Hills to better understand what it's like to live in the shadow of illegal settlements. “
About three million Palestinians live in the West Bank under seemingly unlimited Israeli military rule, with population centers managed by the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority.
More than 500,000 settlers with Israeli citizenship live in more than 100 settlements across the territory, ranging from small outposts in the hills to sprawling communities resembling suburbs or small towns. Most of the international community considers the settlements illegal.
Meanwhile, the war in Gaza rages on with no end in sight, although there have been reports of recent progress in long-running talks aimed at a ceasefire and the release of hostages.
More than 45,800 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed in the Israeli air and ground offensive, according to local health authorities, who say more than half of those killed are women and children. They do not say how many of those killed were militants. The Israeli military says it has killed more than 17,000 fighters, without providing evidence.
The first surprise attack in Israel almost 15 months ago killed about 1,200 people, including several Canadian citizens. About 100 hostages remain in Gaza, at least a third of whom the Israeli government says are dead.
Hamas suffered heavy losses but regrouped repeatedly after Israeli operations. On Monday, militants fired three missiles at Israel from the Gaza Strip, one of which was intercepted, the military said. There were no reports of casualties.
The war has devastated vast swathes of Gaza and displaced 90 percent of the territory's population of 2.3 million, often multiple times. Hundreds of thousands of people spend the cold and rainy winter in tent camps along the windy coast.
Aid groups say Israeli restrictions, ongoing fighting and a breakdown of law and order in many areas are making it difficult to provide desperately needed food and other aid.