Israeli forces have killed three Palestinian men it suspected were involved in a shooting that killed a British-Israeli woman and her two daughters.
ADVERTISEMENTIsraeli forces in the occupied West Bank killed three Palestinians wanted in connection with a shooting attack that killed a British-Israeli settler and two of her daughters.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced the death of at least three people from bullet wounds in the clashes in Nablus, where a large contingent of soldiers, border police and intelligence agents entered and surrounded the house where the three men were staying.
It said that two of the dead had "completely disfigured" facial features "due to the intensity of the shooting".
The Israeli military said the men were behind an attack last month on a car near a Jewish West Bank settlement that killed Lucy Dee, a British-Israeli woman, and two of her daughters, Maya and Rina.
The initial deadly attack shocked Israelis because it reduced the Dee family from seven members to four. Hundreds of people packed the funerals, and Lucy Dee's husband has been a recurring figure in Israeli media, calling for national unity amid a deep societal rift.
In a statement after the raid, Hamas said the three men, identified as Hassan Qatnani, Moaz al-Masri and Ibrahim Jabr, were its members, and it claimed responsibility for the April attack. Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant congratulated Israeli forces "for eliminating the terrorist squad".
Israel has been staging near-nightly arrest raids into occupied West Bank villages, towns and cities for more than a year.
Israel says the raids are meant to dismantle militant networks and thwart future attacks. Palestinians see the attacks as further entrenchment of Israel’s 56-year, open-ended occupation.
At least 250 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the raids began. Just under 50 people have been killed in Palestinian attacks against Israelis.