The men were affiliated with a militant group, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, that carried out an attack earlier this month, the military 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.

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.

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,

The Israeli military said on Thursday that its forces killed two armed Palestinians in Jenin during the night, as its major campaign in the northern West Bank city enters its third day. It said the men were confronted near Jenin,