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

Qutaiba Shalabi and Mohammed Nazzal were killed after a fierce gun battle with Israeli forces on Wednesday night in Burqin, near the northern West Bank city of Jenin. The Palestinian health ministry says their bodies were taken by Israeli forces and the house they were in demolished.

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.