Palestinian firefighters try to extinguish a fire set by Jewish settlers in the West Bank town of Turmus Ayya, on June 21, 2023. Three Palestinians were killed on Wednesday night in an Israeli airstrike on a car in the northern West Bank city of Jenin, Palestinian and Israeli sources said. (PHOTO / AP)

RAMALLAH/UNITED NATIONS - Three Palestinians were killed Wednesday night in an Israeli airstrike on a car in the northern West Bank city of Jenin, Palestinian and Israeli sources said.

Palestinian security sources and eyewitnesses said an Israeli army reconnaissance drone struck near Al-Jalama, a village north of Jenin, killing all three Palestinians in the car.

The civil defense of the Palestinian Authority said in a statement that its crews arrived at the scene, put out the flames of fire, and found the bodies of the three young men.

The Palestinian sources said that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF)  prevented the ambulances of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society from taking the bodies of the three young men from the burned car

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) prevented the civil defense crew from taking the bodies, it added.

The Palestinian sources said that the IDF also prevented the ambulances of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society from taking the bodies from the burned car.

In a statement, the IDF said it killed on Wednesday night "a terror cell in the West Bank using a drone, an unusual move generally reserved for targeting major terrorists or rocket firing cells in Gaza."

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The IDF believed the targeted Palestinian individuals of the terror cell were "perpetrating a shooting attack near Jalma in the Menashe region," adding that this same terror cell has recently carried out other shooting attacks.

The drone attack came amid a recent escalation of violence in the West Bank. On Monday, six Palestinians were killed, and at least 90 others were injured during an Israeli army raid on Jenin. On Tuesday, two Palestinian gunmen, members of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), were killed after they opened fire and killed four Israelis near the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Israel must ensure that the civilian population is protected against all acts of violence, and that perpetrators are held to account, Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said in a statement

'Deeply troubled'

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is deeply troubled by the continued violence and loss of life in the occupied Palestinian territory, his spokesman said.

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"The secretary-general condemns all acts of violence against civilians, including acts of terror," Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for the UN chief, said in a statement.

The statement stressed "it is crucial to reduce tensions and to prevent further escalation."

Israel must ensure that the civilian population is protected against all acts of violence, and that perpetrators are held to account, it said.

Israel must abide by its obligations under international humanitarian law, including the proportional use of force and the taking of all feasible precautions to spare civilians in the conduct of military operations, it added.

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"Ultimately, only a return to a meaningful political process and ending the occupation will bring an end to this devastating cycle of violence and senseless loss of life," said the statement.