The Israeli army has killed at least three Palestinians and wounded four others while firing live ammunition during a raid in Nablus, in the northern occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian officials.

Hamas, the Palestinian group governing the besieged Gaza Strip, said in a statement the three men – identified as Hassan Qatnani, Moaz al-Masri and Ibrahim Jabr – were its members.

The Israeli army and intelligence service said in a statement the men were behind a shooting on April 7 north of Jericho, in which two settler sisters died when gunmen opened fire on their vehicle. Their mother later died of her wounds.

Hamas, in its statement, claimed responsibility for that attack and described the killing of the three men as an “assassination” of the “heroes of resistance in the city of Nablus”.

As the funerals of the three men were held, political factions in Nablus announced a general strike on Thursday in response to the attack.

Locals in Nablus told Al Jazeera that large numbers of Israeli forces, including undercover units, raided the Old City of Nablus as residents were starting the day. The soldiers then surrounded one house, exchanging fire with the Palestinian fighters inside. The Palestinian Red Crescent said four other people were transferred to hospital.