OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — Israeli forces Monday searched for Palestinian gunmen who opened fire on several Israelis near a West Bank settlement, as doctors prematurely delivered the baby of one of the wounded.

Seven people were wounded in the drive-by shooting at a bus stop near the Ofra settlement in the occupied West Bank, including a 30-week pregnant woman taken to hospital in serious condition.

Doctors at the Shaare Zedek hospital in occupied Jerusalem delivered the baby via a caesarean section, the hospital said, adding the mother, 21, was stable on Monday but the baby had taken a turn for the worse.

"There has unfortunately been a deterioration in the baby's condition. The family is requesting prayers for him," a hospital spokeswoman said.

The others wounded in the attack were not in life-threatening condition.

The army said the perpetrators had so far not been located.

"IDF (Israel Defense Forces), border police and security forces commenced extensive searches in the villages in the area as part of the hunt for the terrorists who committed the attack," a statement on Monday said.

"The IDF will continue to operate to apprehend the terrorists and ensure the security of civilians."

The Islamist Hamas movement, which runs the Gaza Strip, praised the attack, saying in a statement that it proved "resistance" was still alive in the West Bank.

Palestinian attacks against Israelis occur sporadically in the West Bank.

On Nov. 26, a Palestinian rammed Israeli soldiers with a car and injured three of them. The assailant in that incident was later killed by Israeli forces.

Sunday's shooting north of Jerusalem was the most serious attack in the West Bank since Oct. 7, when Palestinian Ashraf Naalwa shot two Israelis dead in an industrial zone for a nearby settlement. — AFP