Five Palestinian militants killed in Israeli raid

STORY: Video released by the Israeli army shows security forces on Monday conducting a raid on a Palestinian refugee camp outside the West Bank city of Jericho.

Both Israel and Palestinian armed groups said the raid left five Hamas fighters dead.

A Reuters camera captured images of the aftermath: a door riddled with bullet holes, bloodstains on the floor.

Eid Barahmeh is a Palestinian activist in Jericho.

"It was a bloody night, the Israeli occupation forces committed a crime against our Palestinian people, there are a number of injuries and there are different reports about martyrs during the criminal operation."

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the Israel incursion.

Hamas's armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, said it would avenge the death of its members killed in the Aqbat Jabr refugee camp raid.

Israel said the operation aimed at capturing gunmen who had last month attempted a shooting attack on Israelis.

The military said two suspected Palestinian gunman entered a crowded restaurant in a Jewish settlement in the West Bank and attempted to open fire but fled after a weapon malfunctioned.

Over the past week, Israel said security forces had conducted a number of operations to try to find and arrest the suspects.

The deadly operation comes as Israeli commandos have carried out months of raids in the West Bank in response to a spate of attacks in Israel.

A Palestinian gunman shot dead seven people near a synagogue north of Jerusalem on January 27.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke at a memorial for those victims, and made reference to Monday's raid near Jericho, saying "the proper response to terrorism is to fight it, and to plant deep roots in our homeland."