Two Women Killed in Suspected Terror Attack Near Israeli Settlement, Israel Launches Strikes in Lebanon and Gaza in Response

Two women were killed in a suspected terror attack near an Israeli settlement in the West Bank on Friday, as Israel launched rare strikes in southern Lebanon and continued bombing targets in the Gaza Strip. The attack, which occurred during the Jewish Passover holiday, marks a further escalation in the region following violence this week at Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site.

The Israeli military reported the shooting terror attack near the settlement of Hamra, in the occupied West Bank, saying two sisters in their twenties were killed. The attack is the latest in a series of escalating tensions between Israel and its neighbors, coming during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and in the run-up to the Christian holy day of Easter.

In response to the attack, Israel launched its biggest airstrikes on Lebanon in 17 years early Friday, targeting installations of Hamas, the Palestinian militant group, in southern Lebanon and Gaza. The airstrikes came after militants fired nearly three dozen rockets from Lebanon at Israel, wounding two people and causing some property damage.

The Israeli military said it had struck dozens of targets in the Gaza Strip, including a Hamas military compound, and that it was prepared to continue its operations. The Palestinian militant group has yet to comment on the airstrikes.

The latest violence has raised fears of a wider conflict in the region, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warning that the country is prepared to “take whatever action is necessary” to protect its citizens.