Known as "the guest" for his habit of staying in a different house each night to evade Israeli attacks, Mohammed Deif, leader of Hamas' military wing, remains an enigmatic and shadowy figure.

The evacuation order from Israel affecting 1 million people faced immediate objections, including from the U.N., which warned such an evacuation would have "devastating humanitarian consequences."

With high poverty and unemployment and severe restrictions on movement, life in the Gaza Strip was already difficult before Israel's retaliatory offensive began this week in response to Hamas attacks.

At a highway rest stop near where Hamas gunmen killed Israelis and took hostages, Israeli volunteers are helping rescue civilians and support soldiers who are being dispatched to the front lines.

There are still a number of unaccounted-for U.S. citizens, U.S. officials said, as the fighting entered its third day.

A series of violent escalations on the border between Israel and Gaza over the past week during a sensitive Jewish holiday period raised the specter of an escalation for the first time since May.

As much as a quarter of the Palestinian population of the crowded Jenin refugee camp has fled an Israeli military offensive, the United Nations says.

Israeli forces shot and killed three Palestinian gunmen who opened fire on troops in the occupied West Bank, the military said, the latest bloodshed in a year-long wave of violence in the region.

The Israeli military says it was targeting a militant group in the West Bank called the Lion's Den. So far this year, at least 55 Palestinians — including civilians — have been killed.

Officials say a 6-year-old boy and a man in his 20s were killed when a Palestinian driver rammed a car into a group of people at a bus stop in a largely ultra-Orthodox Jewish settlement neighborhood.

A 10-month military crackdown, a half-century occupation, increasing Palestinian militancy and a far-right Israeli government could impact the chances for more violence.

Israeli police say they shot and killed the gunman. The State Department condemned the "absolutely horrific" attack.

The Palestinian Authority condemned the raid and said it was cutting off security coordination between Palestinian police and Israeli forces.

"We are on the cusp of a very big victory," Benjamin Netanyahu told supporters. He has partnered with the far-right and vowed to impose tougher law enforcement on Palestinians.

Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to stage a comeback. He has allied with far-right politicians in a quest to subdue the Arab community and take greater control of the justice system.