Israeli Settler Attack in West Bank Kills Three Palestinians

Israeli soldiers stand guard during a weekly settlers' tour in Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 7, 2026. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma
Israeli soldiers stand guard during a weekly settlers' tour in Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 7, 2026. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma
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Israeli Settler Attack in West Bank Kills Three Palestinians

Israeli soldiers stand guard during a weekly settlers' tour in Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 7, 2026. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma
Israeli soldiers stand guard during a weekly settlers' tour in Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, February 7, 2026. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma

Palestinian authorities and the Israeli military said on Sunday that three Palestinians were killed during an Israeli settler attack in the occupied West Bank, the second deadly incident reported in as many days.

The Palestinian health ministry said Israeli settlers shot dead Thaer Faruq Hamayel, 24, and Farea Jawdat Hamayel, 57, in the town of Abu Falah, northeast of Ramallah.

It did not say when the incident occurred or provide further details.

In a post on X, Palestinian vice president Hussein al-Sheikh condemned the "brutal attack on innocent citizens", saying three were killed and seven others injured.

The Israeli military said forces were dispatched to the Abu Falah area "following a report of Palestinians being attacked by Israeli civilians near homes".

"Later, it was reported that two Palestinians were killed as a result of gunfire.

Additionally, it was reported that another Palestinian died from suffocation," it said in a statement.

"This is an unacceptable incident," Major General Avi Bluth, head of the Israeli military in the West Bank, was quoted as saying.

"There will be zero tolerance for civilians who take the law into their own hands. These actions are dangerous, they do not represent the Jewish people or the State of Israel," he added.

Violence in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, has soared since the Hamas attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war in October 2023. It has continued despite the ceasefire.

On Saturday, the Ramallah-based health ministry and a local mayor said Israeli settlers shot dead a Palestinian man and wounded his brother in an attack on another West Bank village, Wadi al-Rakhim.

Mohammad Rabai, head of the nearby Tuwani village council, told AFP that settlers had entered homes in the area and attacked the family of 27-year-old Amir Mohammad Shnaran, who later died.

The Israeli military said soldiers and police were dispatched to the scene after reports of a "violent confrontation" between Israelis and Palestinians.

It said an investigation was underway.



EU Top Diplomat Urges Ceasefire to Save Lebanon from ‘Chaos’

Members of the Lebanese Civil Defense inspect a damaged building after an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs, following renewed hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, Lebanon, March 9, 2026. (Reuters)
Members of the Lebanese Civil Defense inspect a damaged building after an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs, following renewed hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, Lebanon, March 9, 2026. (Reuters)
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EU Top Diplomat Urges Ceasefire to Save Lebanon from ‘Chaos’

Members of the Lebanese Civil Defense inspect a damaged building after an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs, following renewed hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, Lebanon, March 9, 2026. (Reuters)
Members of the Lebanese Civil Defense inspect a damaged building after an Israeli strike on Beirut's southern suburbs, following renewed hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, Lebanon, March 9, 2026. (Reuters)

The EU's top diplomat called Monday for a 2024 ceasefire to be upheld to prevent Lebanon from "sliding into chaos," saying Israel's "heavy-handed" response to Hezbollah attacks was further destabilizing the region.

"Israel should cease its operations in Lebanon," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said in a statement after crisis talks with a dozen Middle East leaders including Lebanese President Joseph Aoun.

She likewise called for Hezbollah to "disarm and cease all actions against Israel," saying: "Diplomacy and a return to the ceasefire offer the best chance of averting Lebanon from sliding into chaos."


Israel Says Killed Head of Hezbollah Unit in South Lebanon

This photograph taken during a media tour organized by the Hezbollah shows a man installing a flag of Hezbollah on the balcony of a damaged building at Nabi Sheet town after an Israeli military operation in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon, on March 7, 2026.  (Photo by FADEL itani / AFP)
This photograph taken during a media tour organized by the Hezbollah shows a man installing a flag of Hezbollah on the balcony of a damaged building at Nabi Sheet town after an Israeli military operation in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon, on March 7, 2026. (Photo by FADEL itani / AFP)
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Israel Says Killed Head of Hezbollah Unit in South Lebanon

This photograph taken during a media tour organized by the Hezbollah shows a man installing a flag of Hezbollah on the balcony of a damaged building at Nabi Sheet town after an Israeli military operation in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon, on March 7, 2026.  (Photo by FADEL itani / AFP)
This photograph taken during a media tour organized by the Hezbollah shows a man installing a flag of Hezbollah on the balcony of a damaged building at Nabi Sheet town after an Israeli military operation in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon, on March 7, 2026. (Photo by FADEL itani / AFP)

Israel announced on Monday that its military had killed the head of Hezbollah's Nasr unit operating in part of southern Lebanon during renewed fighting with the Iran-backed armed group.

Defense minister Israel Katz "was briefed on the elimination of the commander of Hezbollah's Nasr Unit", Abu Hussein Ragheb, during an overnight strike, a statement from the defence ministry said, Reuters reported.

The Nasr unit operates in an eastern sector south of Lebanon's Litani River and opened Hezbollah's cross-border attacks on Israel following Hamas's attack in October 2023.


Israeli Fire Kills Priest in South Lebanon's Qlayaa

 Israeli tanks gather at a position along the Israel-Lebanon border on March 8, 2026. (Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP)
Israeli tanks gather at a position along the Israel-Lebanon border on March 8, 2026. (Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP)
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Israeli Fire Kills Priest in South Lebanon's Qlayaa

 Israeli tanks gather at a position along the Israel-Lebanon border on March 8, 2026. (Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP)
Israeli tanks gather at a position along the Israel-Lebanon border on March 8, 2026. (Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP)

A south Lebanon parish lost its priest on Monday when Father Pierre al-Rai of Al-Qlayaa died of wounds sustained from Israeli tank fire, according to state media and a medical source.

The border village had not previously been caught up in the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel.

The National News Agency (NNA) reported that a house in the Christian town was "hit twice in succession by artillery shelling from a hostile Merkava tank" on Monday.

The first strike wounded the homeowner and his wife, according to NNA. After several neighbours, including Rai, and Red Cross paramedics rushed to the scene, the house was hit a second time, wounding Rai and three others.

The priest later died of his wounds, a medical source told AFP.

It was not clear why Israeli forces targeted the house, which is located on the outskirts of the town.

On Friday, Rai had taken part in a gathering organized by locals in the neighboring town of Marjayoun, where they said they were determined to remain in their homes despite evacuation warnings issued by the Israeli army to all residents south of the Litani river, about 30 kilometres from the border.

In a speech, Rai had said: "When we defend our land, we defend it peacefully, and we carry only the weapons of peace, goodness, love and prayer."

"We are compelled to remain in danger because these are our homes and we will not leave them."

Residents of Christian towns along or near the border are trying to stay out of the confrontation between Hezbollah and Israel.