Israeli raid kills three Palestinians in Nablus
Three Palestinians were killed on Thursday morning by Israeli forces in the historic centre of the occupied West Bank city of Nablus, the Palestinian health ministry said.
The Israeli army said two of the three Palestinians killed were suspected to have been involved in the attack near Hamra, an illegal Israeli settlement in the Jordan Valley in April, which killed three members of a British-Israeli settler family, Haaretz reported.
Israel's army identified the killed suspects as Hassan Qatnani and Muath al-Masri, adding that a third Palestinian, Ibrahim Hura, was also among the dead.
The identity of those killed, however, could not be immediately verified by Palestinian authorities.
The Palestinian health ministry said the facial features of two of the Palestinians killed were completely distorted due to the intensity of the shooting, making it difficult to identify them.
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At least nine other Palestinians were also wounded in the raid.
The Israeli army confirmed in a statement that it was conducting an operation in Nablus.
According to Palestinian eyewitnesses, Israeli forces surrounded two houses in the city, one of which belongs to Mohammad al-Azizi, the founder of the Lions' Den resistance group, who was killed last year by the Israeli military.
The operation was carried out by the Shin Bet security agency, Israel Police and the Israei army.
Members of the Yamam special forces unit surrounded the home, where the Jordan Valley attack suspects were believed to be hiding and Israeli forces fired a shoulder-launched missile at it.
This incident raises the total number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces and settlers since the beginning of this year to 104, including 17 children.
Nineteen Israelis and one Ukrainian have been killed by Palestinians so far this year.
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