RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories, May 18, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - The Israeli
military said on Saturday it killed a senior Palestinian militant during an
air strike on an "operations centre" in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin.

"A number of significant terrorists were inside the compound," the Israeli
Defense Forces said in a statement posted to Telegram.

It said the strike by a fighter jet and helicopter killed Islam Khamayseh, a
"senior terrorist operative in the Jenin Camp" who was responsible for a
series of attacks in the area.

The Al-Quds Brigade, the armed wing of militant group Palestinian Islamic
Jihad, confirmed in a statement that Khamayseh was killed and several others
wounded during an Israeli raid on Friday night.

It said Khamayseh was a leader of the Jenin Battalion, which is affiliated
with Islamic Jihad.
 
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said one person was killed and eight were
wounded and receiving hospital treatment as a result of Israel's operation in
Jenin on Friday night.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967 and its troops routinely carry
out incursions into areas such as Jenin, which are nominally under the
Palestinian Authority's security control.

The West Bank has seen a recent surge in violence, particularly since the
Israel-Hamas war erupted on October 7.

More than 500 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers
across the West Bank since October 7, according to Palestinian officials, and
at least 20 Israelis have been killed over the same period, according to an
AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

The Gaza Strip has been at war since Hamas's unprecedented attack on October
7 resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people in Israel, most of them
civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Israel's retaliatory offensive on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip has killed at
least 35,303 people, most of them civilians, according to the Hamas-run
territory's health ministry.