By Ali Sawafta
RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) -Israeli forces shot dead two Palestinian teenagers near Ramallah in the West Bank on Wednesday during widespread protests against Israel's bombing of the Gaza Strip, Palestinian officials said.
The deaths brought the toll of Palestinians killed in the latest flare-up of Israeli-Palestinian violence to at least 64 in the West Bank, a sharp uptick in fatal clashes with the army and settlers.
Israel is preparing a ground assault in the Gaza Strip in response to a deadly attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas that killed at least 1,400 Israelis, mostly civilians, on Oct. 7.
Israeli forces have carried out their fiercest bombardment of Gaza in response, killing more than 3,000 Palestinians and imposing a total siege on the blockaded enclave that Hamas controls, fuelling anger among Palestinians in the West Bank.
A statement from the Palestinian Authority's health ministry said Israeli forces shot a 15-year-old and a 17-year-old in the village of Shuqba west of Ramallah. It did not elaborate.
Residents told Reuters the two boys were trying to set fire to tyres in protest against Israel when they were shot. Israel's defence forces, asked for comment, said they were looking into the incident.
Israel's bombardment of Gaza has inflamed tensions in the West Bank, the other Palestinian territory under Israeli occupation. Earlier, hundreds of Palestinians marched in West Bank cities, a day after a deadly hospital explosion in Gaza for which Israel and Palestinian militants have traded blame.
Waving Palestinian flags and chanting for Hamas, a rare show of support for the militant group that has a relatively small presence in the West Bank, some young Palestinians said they were ready to resort to violence to oppose Israel's assault.
"With our blood and spirit, we sacrifice ourselves for you, Gaza!" a crowd in Ramallah chanted, later shouting "we want the Qassam Brigades", a reference to Hamas's military wing.
Hamas said separately that one of its members in the West Bank was killed trying to throw an explosive device at Israeli security forces near the northern city of Nablus on Wednesday.
'COME AND SHOOT GUNS'
Salah, a 20-year-old at the Ramallah protest who identified himself only by his first name, said he hoped more people would rally to the Palestinian cause.
"Everyone must come and defend Gaza. Whoever has stones should come and throw them, whoever has guns should come and shoot them," he said.
Hamas said on Wednesday that an explosion at the Al-Ahli al-Arabi hospital in Gaza killed hundreds of people and blamed Israeli strikes. Israel says a failed rocket launch by militants in Gaza was the cause of the blast and accuses Hamas of inflating the death toll.
The West Bank is home to the Palestinian Authority (PA) which is dominated by Hamas rivals Fatah and 87-year-old Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Palestinian security forces in Ramallah fired tear gas and stun grenades to disperse protesters throwing rocks and chanting against Abbas on Tuesday after the Gaza hospital attack.
The outbreak of West Bank protests also highlights long-simmering Palestinian anger against Abbas, whose forces have long faced criticism for coordinating with Israel on security in the territory.
The West Bank borders Jerusalem which houses sites sacred to Muslims, Christians and Jews and is a flashpoint for internecine violence. Hamas announced its Oct. 7 attack in part as revenge for Israeli attacks on Muslim worshippers at the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem's old city.
(Reporting by Ali Sawafta, additional reporting by Henriette Chacar in Jerusalem, writing by Yomna Ehab, John Davison; Editing by Alex Richardson, Christina Fincher and Philippa Fletcher)