At least six Palestinians killed in West Bank
RAMALLAH (Reuters) - At least six Palestinians were killed in separate incidents in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, including militant fighters and an 80 year-old woman shot in the chest by Israeli forces, the Palestinian health ministry said.
The latest deaths add to a growing toll in the West Bank since the start of the war in Gaza more than a year ago triggered a surge in violence that has killed hundreds of Palestinians and dozens of Israelis.
In Tulkarm, in the north of the West Bank, four Palestinians were killed in an airstrike on a vehicle, the ministry said. The Tulkarm Brigade, an umbrella group representing different militant factions, said the four killed were fighters and that their deaths would not affect its commitment.
The Israeli military confirmed it had carried out a joint operation with the Shin Bet security service in Tulkarm but gave no other details.
Separately, the ministry said two Palestinians, including an 80 year-old woman, were killed when they were fired on by Israeli troops carrying out a raid in the Balata refugee camp near the West Bank city of Nablus.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the militant group Islamic Jihad, said in a statement they were battling Israeli forces in both Balata and Tulkarm, where they said they hit an Israeli armoured bulldozer with a hidden explosive device.
(Reporting by Ali Sawafta and Jana Choukeir; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Rosalba O'Brien)
