By Staff, Agencies An "Israeli" settler was killed and three others were injured in a retaliatory shooting targeting a bus in the southern West Bank, as tensions remain high following the "Israeli" entity’s ongoing war on the Gaza Strip. The "Israeli" military reported that the gunman opened fire at the bus near the Al-Khader Junction, as it traveled between the illegal settlement of “Beitar Illit” and Al-Quds.

Paramedics confirmed that a woman and two men sustained injuries in the operation.

The assailant fled the scene but later surrendered to "Israeli" forces after searches in the Bethlehem area.

According to "Israeli" media, the gunman was identified as Ezzedine Malluh from Beit Awwa, a town located 22 kilometers [13.6 miles] west of Al-Khalil [“Hebron”].

Abu Obeida, the spokesman for the al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ armed wing, commended the “heroic” operation.

“We bless the al-Quds shooting operation that was carried out by one of the bravest of our people in the occupied West Bank,” he stated, urging resistance fighters across the West Bank to escalate their operations in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

Since the "Israeli" entity launched Operation Al-Aqsa Flood in Gaza in early October 2023, violence in the West Bank has intensified due to near-daily "Israeli" raids in the occupied territory The Palestinian Ministry of Health reported that at least 811 Palestinians have been martyred by "Israeli" forces or extremist settlers in the West Bank since the war began, with more than 6,450 Palestinians wounded.

In the Gaza Strip, the war has resulted in the martyrdom of at least 44,835 Palestinians, most of them women and children, during the ongoing aggression by the "Israeli" entity