Israel arrested students at a university in the occupied West Bank in an early morning raid because of their alleged support for Hamas, sources on both sides said.

The students attend An-Najah National University in Nablus, which called for their immediate release and labelled the army raid a “blatant Israeli aggression”, AFP reports.

The university and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club, a campaign group, said 25 students had been arrested in the raid. Meanwhile, the Israeli army said only that security forces had arrested “nine wanted persons associated with a Hamas student cell”.

A Palestinian security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the arrests came after the students held prayers for Hamas and praised the Islamist militant group on social media.

The Palestinian security source said it was clear “the occupation (Israel) is launching a campaign against everything related to supporting the resistance in Gaza”.