RAMALLAH: Israeli forces killed five Palestinians in the West Bank on Monday, said health officials in the occupied territory, as violence has escalated amid Israel's war in Gaza.
The army said its forces encountered explosive devices in a raid on Jenin and labelled another incursion, near Hebron.
The Palestinian health ministry said four people aged 23 to 28 were killed during the Israeli early morning raid on the northern city of Jenin.
According to the official Palestinian agency Wafa, "more than 100 military vehicles and two bulldozers" took part.
The raid targeted Jenin and its refugee camp, a stronghold of Palestinian armed groups and the target of frequent military incursions.
Another nine people were wounded, a ministry statement said.
Military drones hovered over the area and army snipers were positioned on buildings around Jenin's main hospital, Wafa said.
Part of the hospital's perimeter wall was demolished by armoured military bulldozers.
The Israeli military said its troops uncovered "explosive devices that were planted under the roads in order to attack the forces" during the raid in Jenin.
Later on Monday, the Palestinian health ministry said a 23-year-old man was shot dead by Israeli forces in Yatta city near Hebron.
The Israeli military said its forces had "conducted operations in the area to apprehend wanted suspects".
The Palestinian health ministry also confirmed on Monday that another 23-year-old man died after being shot by a settler days ago in Ras Karkar, northwest of Ramallah.
The deaths came a day after five Palestinians were killed by army fire during several military incursions into the West Bank.
The health ministry says around 120 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since war stormed in Gaza on October 7.
Israel has hit with a relentless bombardment that has killed more than 8,300 people, more than half of them children, the health ministry says. In recent days, Israeli ground forces have entered Gaza.
The West Bank was already a hotbed of tension before the Gaza war, with frequent Israeli army raids, a surge in attacks by Israeli settlers and Palestinian attacks on settlements.
Israel occupied the West Bank during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and its forces regularly carry out raids on Palestinian militants there. — AFP
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