At least 10 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 40 injured by Israeli forces during a major operation in the Jenin area in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry says.

The West Bank city of Jenin was the target of an ongoing Israeli "anti-terror" operation that claimed the lives of at least 10 Palestinians and injured as many as 40 others.

A Palestinian official said hundreds of people began leaving their homes in a flashpoint area of the West Bank on Thursday as Israeli forces pressed a deadly operation there. Israeli forces have also detained several Palestinians from the Jenin area,

"On the directive of the Security Cabinet, the IDF, the ISA, and the Israel Police have today begun a...military operation to defeat terrorism in Jenin," Netanyahu said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the assault on Jenin would be “extensive and significant,” as the military erected new checkpoints across the West Bank.

Gunfire and explosions rocked the Jenin area of the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, an AFP journalist reported, as the Israeli military kept up a large-scale raid for a second day. An AFP correspondent reported hearing gunfire and explosions from the northern city's refugee camp,

A Palestinian official reported shooting and explosions in the flashpoint West Bank town of Jenin on Wednesday as Israeli forces pressed a raid that the military described as a "counterterrorism" operation.

Israel says it has killed two armed men, suspected of carrying out a shooting attack that killed three Israelis in the occupied West Bank earlier this month. Qutaiba Shalabi and Mohammed Nazzal were killed after a fierce gun battle with Israeli forces on Wednesday night in Burqin,

At least 10 people have been killed in the raids, and more than 40 wounded, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Dozens have been arrested, Palestinian officials told the Wafa news agency.