Jenin, Dec 13 (IANS): At least four Palestinians were killed in an Israeli drone attack on the West Bank city of Jenin, a medical source said.

Wissam Baker, director of Jenin Governmental Hospital, said on Tuesday that the bodies of three victims, all of them young men, were transferred to the hospital, while the body of the fourth was sent to a medical centre in the town of Qabatiya, south of Jenin.

Israeli forces raided the city of Jenin and its refugee camp on Tuesday, carrying out a military operation that lasted for several hours, and used drones to bomb a group of young men inside the old town of the city, said Palestinian security sources.

According to the sources, Israeli forces arrested dozens of young men from the refugee camp, Xinhua news agency reported.

Explosions and an exchange of gunfire between Palestinian militants and Israeli forces were heard at the refugee camp and Jenin's neighbourhoods. Israeli forces also bulldozed roads and infrastructure in the camp and its surrounding neighbourhoods, the sources added.

The Israeli army said its soldiers were surveying buildings in Jenin before they were exposed to gunfire and the throwing of explosives. In response, the Israeli soldiers targetted Palestinian militants who opened fire.

Since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict on October 7, a total of 279 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank, according to figures released by the Palestinian Health Ministry.