Israel forces kill two Palestinians in West Bank refugee camp raid as 2023 death toll reaches 150

Israeli forces killed two Palestinians and injured several others during a raid on a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank on Saturday.

The casualties occurred after armed confrontations broke out between Israeli forces and Palestinian fighters in Balata refugee camp in Nablus, The New Arab's Arabic sister site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported.

The Palestinian health ministry identified the two Palestinians killed as Adnan Al-Araj, 19, and Saed Masheh, 32, saying they were shot in the head in a Facebook post.

Three others were wounded in the neck, abdomen and thigh and were in a stable condition, the ministry added.

The two men killed were of no threat to Israeli forces and were hit by a sniper, the journalist Jamal Rayyan was cited as saying by the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.

Armed confrontations began after Palestinian fighters discovered Israeli special forces in Balata camp, local sources cited by Al-Araby Al-Jadeed said.

The Israeli army then sent large numbers of reinforcements into the camp and deployed snipers on rooftops.

Israeli forces surrounded a house in the camp's Al-Jamasin neighbourhood.

Palestinian Red Crescent official Ahmad Jibril said gunfire injured three people, including a 50-year-old woman seriously wounded by four rounds, Wafa reported.

He said bullet shrapnel hurt three people who were tended to on site, and that 75 suffered from breathing problems due to tear gas.

Israeli forces used sound bombs to block Red Crescent medics from accessing Balata camp, Jibril said.

The raid comes amid a deadly 2023 for Palestinians, in both the West Bank and besieged Gaza Strip.

At least 33 Palestinians have been killed in an Israeli escalation against the coastal enclave since Tuesday.

At least four women and six children are among the dead, as are six top Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) commanders.

Israel says four Palestinians were killed by misfired Gaza rockets, which PIJ has denied.

One Israeli has been killed by rocket fire from the strip.

So far this year, Israeli forces and settlers have killed 150 Palestinians – an average of more than one per day.

Reuters contributed to this report.