A car ramming attack killed two Israeli soldiers near the city of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, the Israeli army has said, AFP reports.

The army had earlier reported a car ramming attack on Wednesday near an Israeli settlement outside Nablus, without specifying who the victims were. It later identified them as soldiers Eliya Hilel and Diego Shvisha Harsaj, both 20 and members of the Kfir brigade.

According to Israeli media, the army has launched a manhunt for the perpetrator of the attack, which came as violence in the West Bank flares against the backdrop of Israel’s war against Hamas militants in Gaza.

Hamas welcomed the attack near Nablus, saying in a statement it was a “natural response” against the “crimes of the enemy”.