Palestinians say Israeli drone strike kills West Bank militant

The Palestinian Health Ministry said an Israeli attack on Sunday in the occupied West Bank killed a man identified by the militant group Islamic Jihad as one of its commanders.

When contacted by AFP, the Israeli military had no immediate comment on the attack, which the official Palestinian news agency Wafa said was carried out with a drone.

The Health Ministry in Ramallah said one Palestinian was killed and five others injured “as a result of an attack by the (Israeli) occupation” in the Nur Shams refugee camp in the northern West Bank.

Wafa identified the man killed as Saeed Izzat Jaber, 24.

The Palestinian armed group Islamic Jihad later stated that “the martyred leader” was one of its commanders, adding that he had previously “survived several assassination attempts.”

The killing of Jaber will strengthen “our resistance” against Israel, the group said.

According to Wafa, the Israeli military fired three missiles from a drone at a house in the camp near the city of Tulkarm.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said its teams were treating two people injured “by shrapnel following a hit on a house in Nur Shams camp.”

The organization added that rescue workers were initially unable to enter the affected building “due to the fire.”

An AFP correspondent later saw residents of Nur Shams searching through the rubble. Concrete blocks were scattered around after part of the house was demolished in the attack.

Even before the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip on October 7, a wave of violence in the West Bank has since reached levels not seen for about two decades and is accompanied by frequent military raids and attacks by Israeli settlers.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967.

According to Palestinian officials, at least 554 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers in the territory since the Gaza war began.

At least 15 Israelis, including soldiers, were killed in attacks by Palestinians in the West Bank during the same period, according to a count of official Israeli figures conducted by AFP.

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