Israeli forces kill two Palestinians in occupied West Bank: Palestinian health ministry

Israeli forces killed two Palestinians accused of shooting at soldiers in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, with the Palestinian health ministry confirming the deaths near the northern city of Jenin.

The ministry identified the two men as Ahmed Jamal Tawfiq Assaf, 19, and Rani Walid Ahmed Qatanat, 24, saying they were "shot dead by the Israeli occupation" in the town of Qabatiya.

In a statement, the Israeli army claimed that the "assailants opened fire at IDF soldiers from a vehicle".

"The soldiers responded with live fire toward the two assailants and killed them," the statement claimed

"An M-16 rifle and a handgun" were found at the scene, it added.

The killing by Israeli forces came just one day after a series of airstrikes by Israel in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday killed three Islamic Jihad militant group leaders and 12 civilians, including women and children, in a possible war crime that leaves both sides braced for a military escalation.

The latest violence brings to at least 125 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces so far this year.

Nineteen Israelis, one Ukrainian and one Italian have been killed over the same period, according to an AFP count based on official sources from the two sides.

These figures include combatants as well as civilians, and, on the Israeli side, three members of the country's Arab minority.

Israel has illegally occupied the West Bank since the 1967 war.