A Palestinian was killed and 20 others were injured on Saturday afternoon during an Israeli military operation into the West Bank city of Nablus to arrest wanted militants, witnesses and medics said.

Israeli troops stormed into the northern West Bank city of Nablus on Saturday morning and surrounded a building where the army said Palestinian militants were staying, witnesses said.

Palestinian medics at Nablus Rafidia Hospital reported that a 19-year-old young man was killed and 20 others were wounded by Israeli troops who opened fire to stop them throwing stones.

According to the witnesses, more than 20 military vehicles, tanks and bulldozers entered the city under air cover from warplanes and took up positions around a four-story building north of the city.

The bulldozers began bringing down parts of the building, the witnesses added.

Israeli army sources said about five Palestinian militants " wanted" by the Jewish state were inside the building.

Israeli sources said the troops came under fire during the operation which was still ongoing, but there was no word on casualties among the Israeli soldiers.

In the southern Gaza Strip, Israeli troops arrested four Palestinians who were believed to be members of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas). Residents of Shoka neighborhood in Rafah reported that the Israeli army arrested four members of one family.

Source: Xinhua