At least four Palestinians and two Israelis have been killed in a shooting in the occupied West Bank – the deadliest single incident there in months.

There are conflicting accounts of the sequence of events in the northern village of Tal. Palestinian sources told the BBC that residents confronted Jewish settlers who were attacking them when Israeli soldiers arrived and started shooting. The Palestinian foreign ministry said several other Palestinians were wounded.

Israel’s military said “terrorists stole the weapon” of a security guard who was then killed before shooting at Israeli hikers who had reported coming under attack.

It later announced that an Israeli soldier had also been killed, but did not give details.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it was preparing for a major operation in the area and had cancelled soldiers’ leave.

Violence has surged in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war in 2023 following the 7 October 2023 attacks.

Ahmed Zeidan, an eyewitness, told the BBC the latest incident began early in the morning, when locals in Tal rushed to confront about 30 settlers who were attacking Palestinian homes.

He said hand-to-hand clashes broke out in the presence of Israeli soldiers, before escalating into gunfire between the settlers and the young men.

A local leader of the ruling Fatah party, Essam Saifi, told Reuters news agency that settlers opened fire before Israeli forces arrived and also started shooting.

He said two brothers and two of their cousins were among those killed.

The IDF said Palestinians began the attack.

It said soldiers had gone to Tal following a report of an attack on Israeli civilians who were hiking in the area. A security guard from a nearby settler outpost went to the scene but had his weapon stolen by a Palestinian who shot and killed him, it said.

Soldiers then “eliminated the terrorist who executed the terror attack”, the IDF added.

It later said a 27-year-old soldier “fell during operational activity in the area of ​​the village”.

The Israeli ambulance service said two Israelis were also wounded.