1 Israeli killed, another injured in West Bank shooting attack

JERUSALEM

One Israeli was killed and another injured in a drive-by shooting in the Jordan Valley in the occupied West Bank on Sunday, according to local media.

The public broadcaster KAN said a passing car opened fire near the illegal Mehola settlement in the Jordan Valley, injuring two, including one critically.

One of the injured was later pronounced dead.

Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth said the shooting attack targeted two vehicles in the Jordan Valley.

The Israeli army said a large number of troops have been sent to the site of the shooting attack, and have begun a pursuit after the attackers.

Tensions have been running high across the West Bank since Israel launched a deadly military offensive against the Gaza Strip that has killed nearly 39,800 people since Oct. 7, 2023, following a Hamas attack.

At least 620 Palestinians have since been killed and nearly 5,400 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

In a landmark advisory opinion on July 19, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land "illegal" and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala