Israel kills three in West Bank raids
Israeli troops have killed three Palestinian resistance fighters in pre-dawn raids across the occupied West Bank.
In Nablus a man wanted by Israel was killed and another was wounded during an army raid on Balata refugee camp on Tuesday, medics said.
In the northern West Bank village of Qabatia, an Israeli secret services unit exchanged fire with a group of fighters, killing a member of Islamic Jihad and wounding three others, witnesses said.
An Israeli army spokeswoman confirmed the two operations, saying troops reported shooting three during clashes.
In Anabta, close to the central West Bank town of Tulkarm, a Palestinian wanted by Israel was shot dead and three bystanders were injured in crossfire in an olive grove, witnesses said.
But the Israeli military denied involvement. “Our forces did not operate in Anabta,” the army spokeswoman said.
The fatalities were the latest in a string of Palestinian deaths after Israeli troops killed five Palestinian fighters in two incidents on Monday.
Late on Monday, Israeli troops killed four Palestinian fighters in a gun battle in the Gaza Strip as they tried to fire rockets into Israel. The clash was followed by an Israeli helicopter missile strike, witnesses said.
The Israeli army said troops had clashed with Palestinian fighters inside the Gaza Strip for the first time since withdrawing from the territory last August after 28 years of occupation.