Five Palestinians have been killed in an Israeli drone attack in Tulkarm in the West Bank, according to media reports.

Palestinian media reported on Tuesday that among the dead were three militant fighters, two of whom were commanders.

They are said to be senior members of the armed wings of Hamas and the al-Aqsa Brigades of Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas’s Fatah organisation.

The Israeli army confirmed that a drone had targeted armed terrorists in Tulkarm.

It stated that gun battles also occurred in the city between soldiers and armed residents.

The Palestinian Red Crescent emergency service reported that a woman was killed and three others injured in the incident.

Media reports said two women were killed.

The situation in the West Bank has significantly worsened since the onset of the Gaza War following the Hamas massacre on October 7.

Since then, more than 550 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli military operations, confrontations or their own attacks in the West Bank, according to the local Health Ministry.

Additionally, violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians has increased during this period.

Israel took control of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War.

The Palestinians claim these territories for their own state. 

(dpa/NAN)