Two women killed in West Bank shooting: Israel army

Israeli forces walk near the Hamra junction, in the northern part of the Jordan valley in the occupied West Bank, after the Israeli army closed it following a shooting attack on 7 April 2023.AFP

Two Israeli women were killed and another seriously wounded Friday in a shooting attack on a vehicle in the occupied West Bank, the Israeli army and medics said.

The army said the assailants struck at Hamra junction, in the northern part of the Jordan valley. It did not immediately give details on the identity of the dead women.

The Magen David Adom emergency service said it had confirmed the "death of two women in their 20s and provided medical treatment to a 40-year-old woman in a serious condition".

The army said it had blocked roads around the scene of the shooting and launched a manhunt for the assailants.

The attack came hours after Israel bombarded both Gaza and Lebanon in response to Palestinian rocket fire from the two territories.

It was the biggest salvo fired from Lebanon since Israel fought a 34-day war with Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in 2006 and the first time Israel has confirmed an attack on Lebanese territory since April 2022.

It came after Israeli police clashed on Wednesday with Palestinians inside the flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque in annexed east Jerusalem -- Islam's third-holiest site.