Ramallah, Apr 22 (IANS): A Palestinian woman was killed by Israeli gunfire near a military checkpoint in the West Bank, the Palestinian Health Ministry said in a statement.

Palestinian security sources reported on Sunday that the Israeli army fired at Labiba Faza Sidqi Ghannam, a 43-year-old woman from the city of Tubas, at the Hamra checkpoint in the Jordan Valley, prevented ambulance crews from reaching her and closed the military checkpoint in both directions.

Meanwhile, the Israeli public radio reported that Ghannam attempted to stab the soldiers at the checkpoint while causing no casualties, Xinhua news agency reported.

The incident brings the death toll of Palestinians from Israeli gunfire in the West Bank over the past 24 hours to 16.

The West Bank has been witnessing escalating tensions marked by armed confrontations between Israeli troops and Palestinians in various cities, villages, and camps since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict in the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023.

Since then, Israel has killed more than 480 Palestinians through airstrikes and gunfire in various parts of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.