A drone strike during an Israeli military operation in the volatile West Bank city of Tulkarm has killed three Palestinians, Reuters quotes the Palestinian health ministry as saying.

The strike, in the Tulkarm refugee camp, a crowded city township that houses families of refugees who fled during the 1948 Middle East war, targeted armed fighters, the Israeli military said in a statement.

It claimed troops confronted fighters and dug up roads to uncover improvised explosive devices buried under the tarmac, while residents said gunfire and explosions could be heard throughout the morning.

There was no immediate claim from any of the armed Palestinian factions that the men killed in the drone strike were members.