A Palestinian woman was shot dead by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank on Wednesday, after what the military said was an attempted car-ramming and knife attack.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said the woman died after being shot.
"The Palestinian civil liaison informed the health ministry of the death of a woman shot by [Israeli forces] in Hizma," it said, citing the body that co-ordinates with Israel on military and civilian issues concerning the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli army said "an assailant arrived in her car and attempted to ram into a number of … soldiers" near Hizma, south of Ramallah, before she "exited her vehicle with a knife drawn."
"The soldiers responded with fire towards the assailant and neutralised her," it said.
Official Palestinian news website Wafa identified the woman as Mai Afana, 29, from the town of Abu Dis, which is east of Jerusalem.
The incident came amid fresh tensions between Israel and the Palestinians.
Israel carried out air strikes early on Wednesday targeting Hamas military compounds in the Gaza Strip after people in the Palestinian territory launched incendiary balloons at southern Israel.
The balloons, which caused over 20 fires, were sent after a march of ultranationalist Israelis in Jerusalem's flashpoint Old City on Tuesday.
It was the first flare-up in violence between Israel and Palestinian militants since a May 21 ceasefire ended 11 days of heavy fighting between the two sides.
Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip that began on May 10 killed 260 Palestinians including some fighters, Gaza authorities said.
In Israel, 13 people, including a soldier, were killed by rockets and missiles fired from Gaza, the police and army said.
-
A demonstrator holding a Palestinian flag gestures during a protest over tension in Jerusalem and Israel-Gaza escalation, near Hawara checkpoint near Nablus in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, May 14, 2021. Reuters -
A fireball and smoke billow up into the air during an Israeli air strike on Gaza City targeting the Ansar compound, linked to the Hamas movement, in the Gaza Strip. AFP -
A nurse at Al Shifa Hospital holds a baby, who was pulled alive from under the rubble while seven other family members perished after an Israeli air strike struck Al Shati Refugee Camp in Gaza City. AFP -
This satellite photo released by Planet Labs shows the Gaza Strip. AP Photo -
A Palestinian girl sits on the floor next to her wounded grandmother at Al Shifa Hospital, after an Israeli air strike on Al Shati Refugee Camp in Gaza City. AFP -
People inspect the damage done to Beit Hanoun after a night of Israeli raids in Gaza City, Gaza. Getty Images -
A woman walks beside a broken asphalt, after an Israeli air strike on Beit Hanoun, in the northern Gaza Strip. Getty Images -
A car drives through rubble, after an Israeli raid in northern Gaza City. Getty Images -
Palestinian girls who fled home due to Israeli air and artillery strikes, wait to fill bottles with water at a school hosting refugees in Gaza city. AFP -
Israeli police arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a protest in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in east Jerusalem. EPA -
Palestinian protesters hurl stones during clashes with Israeli forces in the Shuafat camp for Palestinian refugees, neighbouring the Israeli settlement of Ramat Shlomo, in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem. AFP
