Six Palestinians were killed and dozens were shot in an attack by the Israeli military on Wednesday in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus, the Palestinian health ministry said.
Six people aged 23 to 72 were killed “as a result of the occupation’s aggression in Nablus,” the ministry said in a statement.
About 50 people were hospitalized with gunshot wounds, health officials added.
The Israeli military confirmed its forces were operating in the northern West Bank city, but when contacted by AFP, a spokesman was unable to provide further details.
An AFP reporter saw Israeli forces fire tear gas at Palestinians, who burned tires and threw stones at military vehicles.
The troops withdrew from the city after three hours, the reporter said.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said medics had treated 45 gunshot wounds and 250 cases of tear gas inhalation.
Israel’s last major attack on Nablus killed five Palestinians, as forces attacked a local militant group in the Lions Den.
In a message posted on Telegram on Wednesday, the group said the fighters were engaged in an “honorable war” against Israeli forces.
‘Unfortunate signs’
The latest deadly Israeli attack follows an appeal by the United Nations’ Middle East peace envoy, Tor Wennesland, for an end to the violence to be an “important priority”.
“We have seen disheartening signs that we are failing to address the current instability,” he told the UN Security Council on Monday.
Since the beginning of this year, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has claimed the lives of 55 Palestinian adults and children, including militants and civilians.
Nine Israeli civilians, including three children, one Ukrainian civilian and a police officer have been killed in the same period, according to an AFP tally based on official sources from both sides.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke Saturday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and separately with Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas, asking the two leaders to “restore calm”.
A visit last month by Washington’s top envoy to Israel and the Palestinian territories has been followed by rifts between officials and violence.
Blinken’s call followed a decision by Israel’s new hard-right government to grant retroactive permits to some settlement outposts in the West Bank – a move that drew near-unanimous criticism among major powers.
Israel has occupied the Palestinian territories since the Six Day War of 1967.
Netanyahu took office in December and handed power over the West Bank to far-right ministers.
Last year was the deadliest year in the region since the United Nations began tracking casualties in 2005.