Seven Palestinians killed in Israeli raid on West Bank's Jenin

Seven Palestinians were killed in an Israeli military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin on Friday, the Palestinian health ministry and the Palestinian Red Crescent said.

Israel's military said in a statement its forces had encircled a building where fighters had barricaded themselves in, and that an Israeli aircraft had struck targets in the area.

The Israeli operation in Jenin was the latest in a series of clashes in the West Bank between Israeli forces and Palestinians.

The violence had been escalating for more than two years but picked up in intensity since Hamas fighters based in the coastal enclave of Gaza led an attack on Israel last October.