Israeli forces kill senior PIJ member in Jenin

The Israeli military said on Saturday it killed a senior Palestinian militant during an airstrike on an "operations centre" in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin.

"A number of significant terrorists were inside the compound," the Israeli military 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 the 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.

Since the start of the war on Gaza, Israel has ramped up attacks on refugee camps in the occupied West Bank, with Nur Shams in Tulkarem experiencing the lion’s share of the violence. Here's why ⤵ https://t.co/0rcrKyVYwt

— The New Arab (@The_NewArab) May 18, 2024

The West Bank has seen a recent surge in violence, particularly since Israel's war on Gaza erupted on 7 October.

More than 500 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers across the West Bank since 7 October, 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.

Israel's offensive on the Gaza Strip has killed at least 35,386 people, most of them civilians, and wounded 79,366, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.