The Palestinian Red Crescent said that 10 Palestinians were injured on Saturday in clashes with Israeli settlers near Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank.

"Ten injuries during settler attacks in the Khala'il al-Luz area south of Bethlehem, including one injury from live ammunition, and nine injuries from beatings," the rescue service said in a statement.

The Israeli army said in a joint statement with the police that its forces "were dispatched to the outskirts of Bethlehem, following a report of a violent confrontation between Israeli civilians and Palestinians".

The clashes involved "stone hurling between Palestinians and Israelis at the scene, as well as gunfire in the area toward the Palestinians," the statement said.

To halt the clashes, Israeli forces employed "crowd dispersal methods" and declared a "closed military zone in the area", the military said.

"Several Israeli civilians were injured but refused medical treatment," the statement added.

Violence in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied  since 1967, has soared since Palestinian militant group Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war.

It has not ceased despite the fragile truce between Israel and Hamas coming into effect last month.

Israeli troops or settlers have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians, many of them militants, but also scores of civilians, in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war, according to an AFP tally based on Palestinian health ministry figures.

At least 44 Israelis, including both soldiers and civilians, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or Israeli military operations, according to official Israeli figures.