Israeli soldiers kill two Palestinian gunmen in West Bank, military says

The car of Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir is seen upturned after an accident near the area where a suspected stabbing incident took place, after he visited the scene, in Ramle, Israel April 26, 2024 REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) – Israeli soldiers killed two Palestinian gunmen who opened fire at them from a vehicle in the occupied West Bank, the military said on Saturday.

The military released a photo of two automatic rifles that it said were used by several gunmen to shoot at the soldiers, at an outpost near the flashpoint Palestinian city of Jenin.

The official Palestinian news agency Wafa said security officials confirmed two deaths and the health ministry said two other men were wounded.

There was no other immediate comment from Palestinian officials in the West Bank, where violence has been on the rise as Israel presses its war against Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza.

Israel launched its offensive in Gaza after Hamas led an attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7 in which 1,200 people were killed and 253 taken hostage. More than 34,000 Palestinians have since been killed and most of the population displaced.

Violence in the West Bank, which had already been on the rise before the war, has since flared with stepped up Israeli raids and Palestinian street attacks.

The West Bank and Gaza, territories Israel captured in the 1967 war, are among the territories which the Palestinians seek for a state. U.S.-brokered peace talks collapsed a decade ago.

(Reporting by Ali Sawafta in Ramallah and Maayan Lubell in Jerusalem; Editing by Toby Chopra)