THE Israeli military launched a wave of raids across the occupied West Bank on Monday night and into today, killing at least three Palestinians.

The army said it had killed two militants in an air strike today, accusing them of firing at troops in the area of Tamun in the northern West Bank. 

It said another Palestinian fighter had been killed in “close-quarters combat” in the nearby village of Taluza, with an Israeli soldier severely wounded. 

More than 20 suspected Palestinian fighters were arrested, the military added.

Hamas said that one of its veteran commanders, Jaafar Dababsah, had been killed by Israeli forces in the area of the two deadly raids.

The Israeli authorities said the overnight operations were not related to Monday’s attack by gunmen on a bus carrying Israelis in the West Bank. Two women in their seventies and a 35-year-old police officer were killed before the assailants fled.

Israel has launched near-nightly military raids across the West Bank that frequently trigger gun battles with militants and have also killed civilians.

The Palestinian Health Ministry says at least 838 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank since the start of Israel’s retaliation to the surprise attack by Hamas and its allies from Gaza on October 7 2023. 

Meanwhile, Israel and Hamas once again appear to be inching towards a ceasefire deal that would bring home dozens of Israelis held hostage in the Gaza Strip while freeing scores of Palestinian prisoners.

Israel is looking for assurances that the remaining hostages taken during the October 7 attack are alive, while a Hamas official said “no-one knows” the condition of all of the hostages and that the group cannot provide a full accounting until a truce takes effect.

The first phase of the potential ceasefire, expected to last for six to eight weeks, would also include a surge in aid deliveries to the besieged coastal enclave, according to officials from Hamas and Egypt, which is helping to mediate. 

The last phase would include the release of any remaining hostages, an end to the war and talks on reconstruction and who will govern Gaza in the future.

The Hostages Forum, a grassroots group representing many families of those abducted, said: “We know more than half are still alive and need immediate rehabilitation, while those who were murdered must be returned for proper burial.

“We have no more time to waste. A hostage ceasefire agreement must be sealed now!”