Middle East latest: 3 Israelis fatally shot in West Bank attack on a bus

Gunmen opened fire on a bus carrying Israelis in the occupied West Bank on Monday, killing two 70-year-old women and a 35-year-old policeman, Israel's military said. Israeli soldiers have launched widespread operations in the northern West Bank looking for the attackers.

Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war, and the Palestinians seek all three territories for their future state.

Meanwhile, the war in Gaza is raging with no end in sight, although there has reportedly been recent progress in long-running talks aimed at a ceasefire and release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.

Israel's war in Gaza has killed over 45,800 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, who say women and children make up more than half of those killed. They do not say how many of the dead were militants.

The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed across the border in a massive surprise attack nearly 15 months ago, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250. Some 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead.

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Here's the latest:

Militants in Gaza fire 3 rockets into Israel, no casualties

JERUSALEM - Militants in Gaza fired three projectiles into Israel on Monday, one of which was intercepted, the Israeli military said.

There were no reports of casualties, but the rockets damaged a home in the southern Israeli city of Sderot, which is located near Gaza.

Israeli media reported it was the third time the same home had sustained damage from rockets from Gaza.

After a long pause, militants in northern Gaza have launched near-daily rockets in recent weeks despite the ongoing Israeli military operations in the area. The launches highlighted that although Hamas has suffered major losses, they seem to repeatedly regroup after Israeli operations.

Palestinian militants have fired thousands of rockets and missiles towards Israel since the war began on Oct. 7, 2023. Israel’s military offensive has turned vast swathes of Gaza into an uninhabitable wasteland, erasing whole neighborhoods.

UN says Israel shot at one of its aid convoys in Gaza

CAIRO — Israeli soldiers opened fire on a United Nations aid convoy in central Gaza, according to a World Food Program, which provides desperately needed food and aid. None of the eight staff members were injured, the WFP said Monday.

The WFP said the Israeli military shot at least 16 bullets toward their convoy of three vehicles on Sunday, despite receiving necessary clearance from the military.

The WFP said shooting at a clearly-marked U.N. aid convoy was “unacceptable” and called on all sides to allow the safe passage of humanitarian aid.

The Israeli military did not have an immediate comment on the episode.

In November, the military struck a car belonging to the charity World Central Kitchen, killing five employees, after claiming that one of the employees had ties to the Oct. 7, 2023 attack that sparked the war in Gaza.

The strike highlighted the dangerous work of delivering aid in Gaza, where the war has displaced much of the 2.3 million population and caused widespread hunger.

Israeli forces withdraw from a third town in southern Lebanon as part of ceasefire deal

BEIRUT — The Lebanese army announced Monday that its troops began deploying in Naqoura, southern Lebanon, as the Israeli army withdrew. This comes after Israel handing back two other southern towns, Khiam and Shamaa, since the ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel went into effect over a month ago.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the development.

The deployment coincided with a meeting of the committee overseeing the ceasefire agreement in Ras al-Naqoura, which is home to the headquarters of the U.N. peacekeeping mission. The meeting was attended by U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein, who arrived in Beirut on Monday. Hochstein helped broker the ceasefire that ended the 14-month war.

"The Israeli military started (its) withdrawal from Naqoura, most of the western sector and back into Israel proper today,” Hochstein told reporters in Beirut following his meeting with Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.

“The Lebanese army will be the only entity who provides security for the people of south Lebanon, " Hochstein said.

After the deployment is completed in Naqoura, specialized units will survey the area to remove unexploded ordnance, the army said, urging residents to avoid the area and follow army instructions.

UN envoy for Yemen arrives in Houthi-held capital city

UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. special envoy for Yemen has arrived in the Houthi rebel-held capital of Sanaa.

Hans Grundberg's “visit is part of the ongoing efforts to de-escalate the current tensions that have engulfed the region and Yemen,” U.N. spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said Monday. "In addition, his efforts will focus on advancing the peace process.”

The Iran-backed Houthis have stepped up their missile attacks against Israel, and have been targeting shipping in the Red Sea corridor for over a year — attacks they say won't stop until there's a ceasefire in Gaza. Israel has repeatedly bombarded Yemen's ports, oil infrastructure and the airport in Sanaa, some 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) away.

“We’ll also be pushing for the release of the arbitrarily detained U.N. personnel and also from other NGOs and civil society,” the U.N. spokesman said.

The Houthis claim the detainees, most of them held since June, are part of an “American-Israeli spy network,” an allegation vehemently denied by the U.N., NGO organizations, governments and others.

Three Israelis killed by gunmen targeting bus in the occupied West Bank

JERUSALEM — Israel’s rescue service said gunmen attacked a bus carrying Israelis in the occupied West Bank, killing at least three people and wounding eight others.

The attack occurred Monday in the Palestinian village of Al-Funduq, on one of the main east-west roads crossing the territory.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to “settle accounts” with the attackers “and with everyone who assisted them.” Hamas praised the attack in a statement, but did not claim responsibility for it.

Violence has surged in the West Bank since the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza began in October 2023.

The Palestinian Health Ministry says at least 838 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank since the start of the war in Gaza. Most appear to have been militants killed in battles with Israeli troops, but the dead also include participants in violent protests — and civilian bystanders.

At least 46 Israelis, including 19 soldiers, have been killed in violent attacks by Palestinian militants, according to the U.N.