Israel has launched a large-scale military operation in the old city of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, AFP journalists report, with the army reporting injured troops and two Palestinians “eliminated”.

Dozens of military vehicles entered the city shortly after midnight, an AFP journalist reported, after a curfew had been announced over loudspeakers the day before.

Military operations are focused on the old city, a densely populated area bordering a large downtown square where young men and boys gathered to burn tyres and throw stones at armoured vehicles.

The Israeli army said that one soldier was “moderately injured” and three others “lightly injured” when two Palestinians allegedly attempted to steal a soldier’s weapon, adding that troops opened fire and “eliminated” both Palestinians.

AFPTV footage showed Israeli soldiers standing in one of the old city’s narrow streets, next to the bodies of two civilians. Neither Palestinian medics nor the Israeli army confirmed the two deaths.