Israeli forces wound 11 Palestinians after opening fire at Birzeit University in West Bank

At least 11 people were wounded after Israeli troops opened fire on students at Birzeit University in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday morning.

In an unprecedented assault, Israeli forces destroyed the university's main gate and stormed the campus, firing live ammunition, tear gas and stun grenades and triggering panic among students and staff.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said three were hospitalised with gunshot wounds to the legs. Five suffered tear gas inhalation, and another three were injured by shrapnel.

The Palestinian health ministry said 11 people were receiving treatment at the Istishari Arab Hospital in Ramallah.

At least 8,000 students were believed to be on campus at the time.

The raid occurred after students held an event expressing solidarity with the thousands of Palestinian detainees held in Israeli prisons.

It also coincided with a screening of the award-winning film The Voice of Hind Rajab, a docudrama about the killing of a six-year-old girl in Gaza by the Israeli army.

The Israeli military said it attacked the university because of a "gathering in support of terrorism".

The university described the assault as a "part of a systematic policy by the Zionist settler-colonial regime to intimidate students and undermine their right to education".

The Palestinian education ministry condemned the raid, which it said "completely disregards all international norms".

Israel has previously raided Birzeit University and other Palestinian education institutions but has rarely deployed lethal force against students.

In December, Israeli forces detained five members of Birzeit's security team and stormed the campus of al-Quds University near Jerusalem.