As three hostages were reunited with their families in Israel after 15 months of captivity in the Gaza Strip, settlers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank attacked at least three Palestinian villages, according to residents and the Israeli military.

Palestinian residents of the villages said that the attackers were masked and burned homes and vehicles, accounts that were backed up by video footage on social media verified by The New York Times. The Israeli military said in statements that the villages had been subject to “violent riots” and “violent confrontation” but did not mention arson attacks.

The military said that it had detained two suspects and handed them over to the Israeli police. The police did not respond to a request to confirm the episodes or the detentions.

Honenu, a legal organization that has represented settlers, issued a statement Monday on behalf of one of its lawyers, Daniel Shimshilashvili, saying that two people accused by the police of setting fire to the homes of Palestinians in the West Bank had been released after a court hearing. It did not name the two.

The violence against Palestinians in the West Bank comes as many far-right Israelis have been protesting the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel, hoping to disrupt implementation of the deal.

On Sunday, WhatsApp groups administered by Israeli settler groups were full of angry comments about the release of Palestinian prisoners to the West Bank and calls to block their entry with organized protests. Many users said that the released prisoners, some convicted of mass-casualty attacks on Israelis, posed a threat to citizens of Israel.

In Sinjil, a village south of Nablus, dozens of men, some carrying slingshots, rampaged through the village throwing stones and setting houses on fire, according to residents and videos verified by the Times. One clip showed vehicles burning in the village.

“People screamed as their homes were burning,” said Ayed Jafry, 45, a resident of Sinjil. He said that several people were injured, including an 86-year-old man.

On Sunday morning, a WhatsApp group for settlers posted a video of an Israeli man outside a shop with shattered glass, in Funduq, a Palestinian town.

“The next stage is destroying it,” he declared.

In a video taken from a CCTV camera in Turmus Aya, at least 20 masked men can be seen throwing stones and entering the village, as Israeli police cars appear in the distance. Villagers said the officers stayed clear of the violence and did not try to stop it.

Lafi Adeeb, the mayor of Turmus Aya, said that the police didn’t enter the village but that the military eventually dispersed the riot using tear gas. “I was shocked,” he said, because “this is the first time the army stopped the settlers here.”

Palestinian villagers in Turmus Aya and Sinjil, some of whom are U.S. citizens, alerted the U.S. Embassy in Israel about the attacks, and a senior U.S. diplomat called the office of Defense Minister Israel Katz to inform him, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomatic information.

Houthis plan to limit attacks

Meanwhile, Yemen’s Houthi rebels have announced that they would scale back their attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea, targeting only those they see as having direct links to Israel, following the implementation of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, according to an email sent by the group to shipping companies and others.

The Houthis said they would target vessels “wholly owned by Israeli individuals or entities and/or sailing under the Israeli flag.” The group added that it would stop targeting all ships “upon the full implementation of all phases” of the ceasefire agreement.

But in the email dated Sunday and sent by a Houthi-linked group that communicates with the shipping industry, the Houthis warned that if the United States or Britain directly attacked Yemen, they would resume their assaults on vessels associated with these countries.

A military spokesperson for the Houthis, Yahya Saree, said that another statement was planned for later Monday, which was expected to elaborate on the decision.

Since November 2023, the Houthis have been launching missiles at Israel and targeting commercial vessels they believe are headed for Israel, in what they say is a show of solidarity with Hamas, their Iran-backed ally in Gaza.

The attacks have severely disrupted global shipping trade through the Red Sea, a key route for traffic between Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Many shipping companies have rerouted their cargo around the Cape of Good Hope, located at the southern tip of Africa. This alternative path has added approximately 4,000 miles and 10 additional days to shipping journeys, requiring significantly more fuel.