A Palestinian has killed five Israelis in an attack on a West Bank settlement, who according to media reports were all members of the same family, including a baby and a toddler.

An Israeli army spokeswoman confirmed to AFP on Saturday that a Palestinian got into the Itamar settlement near Nablus in the north of the West Bank and killed five people, but did not elaborate on who the victims were.

Israeli reports suggested that the victims had all been stabbed to death in their beds.

According to the Israeli news site Ynet, the victims were a month-old baby, two children aged three and 11 years old, and their parents. Three other children managed to escape and raise the alarm, Ynet reported.

The army had launched a search of the area to find the attacker or attackers, said the army spokeswoman.