UPDATE 2 - 3 Palestinians killed, 9 injured in Israeli raid in West Bank

CHANGES HEADLINE, LEDE, ADDS HEALTH MINISTRY STATEMENT

By Awad al-Rujoub

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) - Three Palestinians were killed and nine others injured in an Israeli military raid in the West Bank city of Nablus on Monday evening, according to the Health Ministry.

Israeli forces raided the eastern part of Nablus, triggering clashes with residents, witnesses said.

The Health Ministry identified two of the victims as Adam Salahuddin Mansour Faraj, 23, and Mutaz Khaled Sadiq Nabulsi, 28.

In a separate statement, the ministry said a third man – 30-year-old Ahmad Omar Al-Khadri -- succumbed to wounds he sustained from Israeli gunfire in Nablus.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society said earlier that one person had been killed and eight others injured in the raid.

Video shared on social media showed plumes of smoke rising from the area amid gunfire. Activists also shared a video showing Israeli soldiers dragging an injured Palestinian and another bleeding up the stairs of a building.

Tensions have been running high across the West Bank since Israel launched a deadly military offensive against the Gaza Strip after an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7 last year.

At least 524 Palestinians have since been killed and nearly 5,000 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which in its latest ruling ordered it to immediately halt its operation in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara