JENIN, Palestinian Territories, Dec 12, 2023 (BSS/AFP) - Israeli forces killed four Palestinians in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin on Tuesday, the Palestinian health ministry reported.

The ministry did not provide further details on the fatalities, while the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said they were killed in a drone strike on the Old City.

Around 270 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire and settler attacks in the West Bank, Palestinian officials say, as violence has escalated in the territory since the outbreak of the war on October 7 between Israel and Gaza's militant rulers Hamas.

An AFP photographer saw Israeli military vehicles entering Jenin refugee camp on Tuesday and a drone flying above.

Israeli forces "continue to storm Jenin camp and ambulance crews are prevented from entering to deal with medical cases without prior coordination," the Red Crescent said in a statement.

There was no immediate comment on the killings from the Israeli military, which has occupied the West Bank since the 1967 Arab-Israeli War.

Jenin city and its refugee camp have seen repeated Israeli raids, with dozens killed this year including militants and children.

The death toll in the West Bank now exceeds the 235, most of them Palestinians, killed in a brief Israeli-Palestinian conflict last year.

The current Gaza war was triggered by Hamas's unprecedented attack in southern Israel on October 7, which killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, Israeli officials say.

Israel's military response has killed more than 18,200 Gazans, the majority civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.

At least 137 of around 240 people taken hostage in Israel are believed to remain in Gaza.