A US citizen taking part in a protest against the settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank died of her wounds on Friday, after being shot in the head by Israeli troops, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.

The Israeli military said it was looking into the report.

The United States said it was "urgently" seeking information on the woman's death.

"We offer our deepest condolences to her family and loved ones. We are urgently gathering more information about the circumstances of her death and will have more to say as we learn more," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.

He identified the woman as Aysrnur Egzi Eygi and called her death "tragic," without immediately assigning responsibility.

Fouad Nafaa, the head of the Rafidia Hospital in Nablus, said the woman arrived at the hospital in a very critical condition with a serious head injury.

"We tried to perform a resuscitation operation on her, but unfortunately she died," he said.

WAFA said the woman was killed during a regular protest march by activists in Beita, a town near the city of Nablus that has seen repeated attacks by settlers.

Israeli military seemingly withdraws from Jenin

News of the woman's death came as the IDF seemingly withdrew from three refugee camps in Jenin, a city in the West Bank, following one of the biggest security operations in the locality in months.

Thousands of residents were displaced from their homes during the nine-day operation, during which IDF troops exchanged fire with factions including Hamas,  Islamic Jihad and Fatah.

It marked the deadliest operation in the West Bank since October 7, 2023.

"When they entered, they used bulldozers and began destroying everything. They left nothing," said Jenin resident Samaher Abu Nassa.

Troops were pulled out of the Tulkarem camp by Friday morning and had left Al-Faraa earlier, but the Israeli military suggested in a statement that the operation was not yet over.

"Israeli security forces are continuing to act in order to achieve the objectives of the counterterrorism operation," the IDF said in a statement.

Water and electricity services remain cut and around 20 kilometres of roadway was dug up by Israeli bulldozers, a tactic the IDF said was aimed at neutralising roadside bombs but which has ripped up much of the centre of the city.

A statement from the IDF said 30 explosives planted under the roads had been dismantled.

"They've set us back 60 years," Tulkarem camp resident Ziad Abu Tahoun said.

Families were also confined to their homes and ambulances evacuating the wounded were slowed on their way to nearby hospitals as Israeli soldiers searched for militants.

The Palestinian foreign ministry accused the IDF of transferring the tactics used to level the Gaza Strip into the West Bank.

The Israeli military said the operation was aimed at thwarting Iranian-backed militant groups planning attacks on Israeli civilians.

It said troops had killed 14 militant fighters during the operation, including the local commander of Hamas in Jenin.

Forces also arrested 30 suspects and confiscated weapons and dismantled infrastructure including an underground weapons storage depot underneath a mosque and an explosives workshop, according to the IDF statement.

Funeral processions for people killed during the fighting attracted thousands of people on Friday.

West Bank casualties included 16-year-old girl

At least 21 of the 39 Palestinians killed during the West Bank operation were killed in Jenin, according to local health officials.

Many were claimed as members by the armed factions but a number were uninvolved civilians, including a 16-year-old girl, apparently shot by a sniper while looking out of the window.

While the Israeli military's main focus over most of the past year has been in Gaza, the West Bank has seen a recent surge in violence.

More than 680 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, according to Palestinian health ministry figures.

Many have been armed fighters but others have been youths throwing stones at protests or civilians with no involvement in the violence.

In the same period, dozens of Israeli civilians have been killed in attacks by Palestinians or in rocket and missile attacks from the Iranian-backed Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

The current war in Gaza began when Hamas militants staged a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people. 

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials.

Israel has been under increasing pressure from the United States and other allies to reach a cease-fire deal in Gaza.

Hamas has offered to release all hostages in return for an end to the war, the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces and the release of a large number of Palestinian prisoners — broadly the terms called for under an outline for a deal put forward by US President Joe Biden in July.

The militant group has accused Israel of dragging out months of negotiations by issuing new demands, including for lasting Israeli control over both Philadelphi corridor and a second corridor running across Gaza.

Reuters/AP