Three young Palestinians were killed and at least seven others wounded on Wednesday evening when armed Israeli settlers stormed the Palestinian town of Kafr Malik, east of Ramallah.

The assault, described by locals and rights groups as a premeditated massacre, has drawn widespread outrage across Palestine.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the victims were fatally shot during the attack, which also left homes and vehicles burned and terrified residents scrambling for safety. Medical teams rushed to the scene, treating injuries and confirming three fatalities from direct gunfire.

The Palestinian Red Crescent reported treating five gunshot wounds, two of whom were in critical condition before being pronounced dead. The attack reportedly involved around 100 settlers, who, backed by Israeli occupation forces, invaded the town, set fire to several homes, and violently assaulted residents.

In response, the Hamas Movement issued a statement mourning the martyrs and condemning what it called a calculated act of ethnic violence aimed at displacing Palestinians and entrenching Israeli settler-colonial control over Palestinian land.

“This crime reflects the deeply rooted brutality of the Israeli occupation, built on dispossession, violence, and an unrelenting campaign to uproot the Palestinian people,” Hamas declared. The group praised the courage of the town’s residents for resisting the attack and called for a “comprehensive and unified resistance.”

Hamas urged the Palestinian Authority and its security forces to fulfill their duty to protect the people, calling for the immediate release of all political detainees and resistance fighters held in PA prisons. The statement emphasized the need to form grassroots and official protection committees to defend Palestinian communities against ongoing settler and military aggression.

“Our people will not remain silent in the face of these crimes, killings, and forced displacement,” the movement warned. “Every drop of martyr’s blood in Kafr Malik and across Palestine will fuel the path toward liberation.”

This latest atrocity highlights the unchecked violence faced daily by Palestinians under occupation. Settler attacks, increasingly carried out in coordination with Israeli forces, continue to terrorize Palestinian communities with impunity, underscoring the urgent need for international accountability and grassroots mobilization. (ILKHA)