Agencies
Nablus
The Israeli army has killed at least three Palestinian fighters and wounded four others while firing live ammunition during a raid in Nablus in the northern occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian officials. The Israeli army and intelligence service said in a statement that the men were behind a attack on April 7 north of Jericho that killed two British-Israeli sisters when gunmen opened fire on their vehicle. Their mother also later died of her wounds. Hamas, the Palestinian group governing the besieged Gaza Strip, said the three men who were killed on Thursday – identified as Hassan Qatnani, Moaz al-Masri and Ibrahim Jabr – were members of its armed wing.
Hamas, in its statement, claimed responsibility for the attack near Jericho that killed Rina and Maia Dee, and their mother Lucy, residents of the illegal settlement of Efrat, south of Jerusalem. More than half a million Israelis live in some 200 settlements built on Palestinian land considered illegal under international laws. Locals in Nablus told Al Jazeera that large numbers of Israeli forces, including undercover units, raided the Old City as residents were starting the day.