At least three Israeli civilians were killed in a drive-by shooting on Monday in the northern West Bank, and eight others were injured, the Israeli military and rescue services reported.
The attack, which involved gunfire on a bus and two cars, occurred in the Palestinian town of Al-Funduq, a major traffic artery used daily by thousands of Israeli and Palestinian drivers.
According to the Israeli military, the assailants, at least two armed Palestinians, opened fire on two Israeli cars and a bus on the highway as they passed through the town in the morning, as reported in Israeli media. Two elderly women in one of the cars and a man in his middle age in the second car, about 150 meters away, were pronounced dead at the scene. At least eight people in the bus were injured, including the 63-year-old driver. Two women in the bus were in a moderate condition, and at least five others were lightly injured.
The Israeli military stated that they dispatched a large number of soldiers, as well as an Israeli Air Force helicopter, to search for the attackers. The army said it had set up roadblocks in the area of the attack, and had sealed off the city of Nablus and several nearby villages.