Three Israelis were killed and eight others wounded in Palestinian gun attacks on a bus and other vehicles in the occupied northern West Bank, the Israeli military and medics said.

The Magen David Adom ambulance service identified the deceased as two women in their 60s and a man in his 40s. The bus driver was seriously injured.

The Israeli military said the “terrorists” opened fire on vehicles near the village of al-Funduq, off Highway 55, before fleeing the scene.

Israeli media quoted a military official as saying the attackers were two Palestinians and that security forces were hunting them, setting up roadblocks and surrounding several towns in the area.

Magen David Adom paramedic Avichai Ben Tzurya described it as “a very serious attack involving multiple vehicles across the road”.

He said in a statement: “We conducted a quick search and found two women and a man inside a private vehicle without a pulse and suffering from serious gunshot wounds. We had no choice but to declare them dead at the scene. “

“Inside the bus, we treated victims with gunshot wounds and broken glass, including the conscious bus driver who suffered a gunshot wound, as well as other victims with mild to moderate conditions.”

The injured were evacuated to two hospitals in central Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to bring to justice what he called the “hateful murderers” and anyone who helped them.

“No one can escape,” he wrote on the X.

There was no immediate claim from the Palestinian armed group, but Hamas praised the attack as a “heroic response to (Israeli’s) ongoing crimes, including the war in Gaza.”

Hamas launched a deadly attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, triggering a surge in violence in the West Bank since the war began, killing hundreds of Palestinians and dozens of Israelis.

On Sunday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said two Palestinians – a 17-year-old boy and a 40-year-old man – were killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank.

Reports said the teenager was shot dead during an Israeli attack on the Askar refugee camp near the city of Nablus, 10 kilometers (6 miles) east of Funduk.

The Israeli military said its troops opened fire on people who threw explosives at them in the Nablus area, Reuters reported. It added that “an attack was detected” and the incident was under review.

The man was killed in the town of Metalen, 21 kilometers northeast of Funduk, and the Israeli military said border police killed an armed suspect and arrested 19 others in a wider operation.