Nablus has been a focus of raids that Israel has intensified over the last year. Picture used for illustrative purposes only.

Israeli troops on Wednesday entered a major Palestinian city in the occupied West Bank in a rare, daytime arrest operation, triggering fighting that killed at least 10 Palestinians and wounded scores of others.

The raid, which reduced a building to rubble and left a series of shops riddled with bullets, was one of the bloodiest battles in nearly a year of fighting in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.

A 72-year-old man was among the 10 killed and 102 people were wounded, Palestinian officials said.

"We condemn the occupation's raid into Nablus and we call for an end to the continued attacks against our people," said Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesperson for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

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The Israeli military said it entered the city to arrest three wanted militants suspected in previous shooting attacks in the West Bank. It said it tracked down the men in a hideout.

In the Old City of Nablus, people stared at the rubble that had been a large home in the centuries-old casbah. From one end to the other, shops were riddled with bullets.

Parked cars were crushed. Blood stained the cement ruins. Furniture from the destroyed home was scattered among mounds of debris.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said of the 102 people wounded, six were in critical condition.

Palestinian armed groups claimed three of the dead as members.

But a 72-year-old man was also killed. There was no immediate word on whether the others belonged to armed groups.

An amateur video posted online appeared to show security camera footage of two young men running down a street.

Gunshots are heard, and both falls to the ground, with one's hat flying off his head. Both bodies remained still.
Amateur video footage appeared to show Israeli troops operating in downtown Nablus, and army vehicles firing tear gas canisters.

Associated Press