Ramallah, Jun 22 (IANS): The Israeli army has killed two Palestinians in the West Bank city of Qalqilya, said Palestinian and Israeli sources.

Governor of Qalqilya Hossam Abu Hamda told Xinhua news agency on Friday that Israeli special forces infiltrated the city centre and fired bullets toward a vehicle that two young men were travelling on.

He added that the Israeli forces imposed a military cordon on the area, prevented the ambulance from reaching the vehicle, confiscated the vehicle and took the two bodies, Xinhua news agency reported.

On Friday, Israeli state-owned Kan TV reported that Israeli forces killed two members of the Islamic Jihad movement in Qalqilya, who were riding in a vehicle and planning to "carry out an attack".

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

Israel has killed more than 550 Palestinians with airstrikes and gunfire in various parts of the West Bank and east of Jerusalem since the outbreak of the conflict, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.