Israel conducts military operation in West Bank city; 4 Palestinians killed

The Israeli military said on Friday it was conducting counterterrorism activity that included an airstrike in the area of the West Bank city of Jenin. Palestinian authorities said four people were killed.

The military said Israeli soldiers had encircled a building where terrorists have barricaded themselves in and the soldiers were exchanging fire, while an airstrike had struck several armed terrorists in the area.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said four people died but did not provide any information on their identities. No further details were immediately available from either side.

The clashes in Jenin, a known militant stronghold where the army frequently operates, came a day after an Israeli anti-settlement monitoring group said the government plans to build nearly 5,300 new homes in settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The construction plans revealed by the Peace Now group are part of the hard-line government's efforts to beef up settlements as part of a strategy of ...