Pregnant Palestinian killed by Israeli gunfire in West Bank, Palestinian ministry say

A pregnant 23-year-old Palestinian was killed by Israeli security forces on Sunday in the Nur Shams refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said.

Sundos Jamal Mohammed Shalabi, who was eight months pregnant, was struck by Israeli gunfire, the ministry said in a statement, adding that the foetus also did not survive and that Shalabi's husband was critically injured.

Details of Shalabi's death were not immediately clear. Israel's military had no immediate comment.

The Palestinian state news agency cited eyewitnesses as saying that Shalabi and her husband were shot by Israeli forces as they were trying to leave their home.

The Israeli military had said it was expanding a counter-terrorism operation in the north of the West Bank to Nur Shams, a refugee camp close to the Palestinian town Tulkarm.

Israel's military, police and intelligence services started the counter-terrorism operation in Jenin on January 21, described by officials as a "large-scale and significant military operation".

The operation expanded to Tulkarm, Al Faraa and Tamun, with the military saying it was targeting fighters.

Israel, viewing the West Bank as part of a multi-front war against Iranian-backed groups established around its borders, launched the operation after reaching a ceasefire in its war in Gaza against the Palestinian group Hamas.

Thousands of Palestinians have fled West Bank homes in the wake of the military campaign and the widespread destruction.

Palestinians have said the Israeli campaign is one of the most destructive in recent memory. Dozens of Palestinians have been killed, according to the Palestinian Authority’s Health Ministry. The Israeli military has said it has killed fighters.

This month, the Israeli military released a video of a controlled demolition of buildings in the crowded Jenin refugee camp. It said the 23 buildings were used by fighters.

The refugee camp has been a centre of militant activity for decades and the target of repeated Israeli raids. Israeli security forces say fighters there have become more sophisticated, alleging they receive support from Iran.

The Israeli security forces launched the operation in the West Bank after the Western-backed Palestinian Authority carried out their own operation in Jenin for more than a month.