RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories, March 15, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Israeli forces shot dead four members of a Palestinian family, including two children, in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry reported, while Israel said troops opened fire over a perceived safety threat.

The Palestinian Red Crescent also said its teams had recovered the bodies of two adults and two children from a vehicle that had been fired on by Israeli forces in the West Bank's northern town of Tammun.

"Four martyrs from one family arrived at the Turkish Public Hospital in Tubas after the occupation army shot at them in Tammun," the Ramallah-based Palestinian health ministry said.

It said the hospital received the bodies of a 37-year-old man, his 35-year-old wife and two boys aged five and seven, adding that all had gunshot wounds.

The Israeli military and police said in a joint statement that during an operation in Tammun, "a vehicle accelerated toward the forces, who perceived an immediate threat to their safety and responded with gunfire".

"As a result, four Palestinians who were in the vehicle were killed," it said, adding that the incident was under review.

The Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that the couple's two other children, aged eight and 11, were wounded by shrapnel after Israeli forces opened fire on their vehicle early on Sunday morning.

Violence in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, has risen sharply since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war.

There has also been a spike in deadly attacks by Israeli settlers in the West Bank since the start of the war in Iran, Palestinian authorities and the United Nations say, with at least six Palestinians killed since the start of March.

According to an AFP tally based on Palestinian health ministry figures, Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 1,045 Palestinians -- many of them militants, but also scores of civilians -- in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war.

Official Israeli figures say that 45 Israelis, including both soldiers and civilians, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations.

In addition to roughly three million Palestinians, more than 500,000 Israelis live in settlements and outposts in the West Bank, which are illegal under international law.