Israeli soldiers killed a total of at least five Palestinians today during a raid into the West Bank city of Nablus, Palestinian medics said.
The army confirmed the incidents in which medics said the Palestinians, including three gunmen, were killed. But it could not say how many people had died. Two Israeli soldiers were wounded in an exchange of fire.
The Israeli army said troops fired at Palestinians who either shot at them or threw fire bombs.
It is the army's biggest sweep in the occupied West Bank since the militant Hamas group won a Palestinian election on January 25th.
Witnesses said the confrontations began after the army expanded the scope of the operation from Balata refugee camp, on the outskirts of Nablus, into the city centre, blocking main roads and forcing schools and some businesses to close.
An Israeli military official in Jerusalem said troops were searching the Nablus area for militants suspected of involvement in planning suicide bombings and other attacks. The official did not say how long the operation would last.
The main targets of the raid have been Islamic Jihad, which carried out two suicide bombings in Israel in recent months, and al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a militant group that is part of the mainstream Fatah movement.
More than two dozen militants have been arrested in the Nablus area and elsewhere in the West Bank since the operation began on Saturday, Israeli military sources said.
Palestinians said more than 50 people had been shot and injured by the army during confrontations.