An 11-year-old girl was killed today during an incursion by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank town of Nablus today.
The circumstances of the girl's death are not clear but reports indicate that she was shot as children threw stones at Israeli armoured vehicles.
On entering Nablus, the Israelis surrounded a building and a gun battle erupted.
Security officials said six militants from the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades were killed. Among those killed was Nader Aswad, a local leader who was wanted by Israel.
Basma Masri, a Nablus resident, said she spoke to her son, who was one of the armed men in the house, during the exchange of fire. Masri said her son told her that he and his five friends had run out of ammunition.
Witnesses said four of the dead men were believed to belong to al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an armed group inside Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction. Medics could not immediately access the clash site to identify the bodies.
Israel has recently stepped up operations against West Bank militants spearheading a four-year-old Palestinian uprising. On Monday, an Israeli air strike killed three al-Aqsa men in Jenin.