RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories, Jan 2, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Israeli troops killed four Palestinians during a raid in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, sources on both sides said, with the army describing the four as "terrorists".

"Four Palestinians were martyred by occupation bullets in the town of Azzun," the Palestinian health ministry said.

The official Wafa news agency said the men were shot dead when clashes erupted as Israeli troops raided the town.

"Israeli occupation soldiers fired live ammunition, stun grenades and tear gas at residents during the raid," the report said.

Israeli troops searched homes and businesses, and took surveillance footage from several shops, Wafa reported.

The army said troops had returned fire after militants shot at them and threw explosives.

"At the end of an exchange of fire, they killed four terrorists and confiscated three Carlo-type weapons (locally produced submachine guns) that were used by them," the army said in a statement.

A soldier was moderately wounded, it added.

In a separate exchange of fire, troops "neutralised" a Palestinian militant who fired at them in the town of Qalqilya, the army said without elaborating.

Israeli forces made seven arrests in the West Bank overnight, the army said, adding that more than 2,550 people have been arrested in the territory since the Israel-Hamas war erupted.

The West Bank has been under Israeli military occupation since the Six-Day War of 1967 and tensions have escalated since the outbreak of fighting between Israel and Hamas.

Since October 7, at least 321 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli troops or settlers, according to the Palestinian health ministry. More than 520 Palestinians were killed in the territory last year.