
People inspect a building that was heavily damaged during an Israeli army raid on the Nur Shams camp for Palestinian refugees, east of Tulkarm in the occupied West Bank. AFP
The Israeli army said Mohammad Abdullah was "eliminated" on Thursday when a an aircraft struck the camp near the northern city of Tulkarem.
Abdullah was the successor of Muhammad Jabber, also known as Abu Shujaa, who was killed in an Israeli strike in late August.
Islamic Jihad is an ally of Hamas, with both groups fighting against the Israeli occupation and assaults on the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
After the Israeli raid, Hamas said the resolve of West Bank groups remained high, warning the "crimes of the occupation will set the earth ablaze under the feet of its frightened army".
The attack comes a week after Israeli forces targeted a building with an air strike in Tulkarem that the Palestinian health ministry said killed 18 people, making it one of the deadliest air strikes in years in the West Bank.
Israel's army claims the strike killed 12 Palestinian fighters, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad members.
Violence against Palestinians has soared in the West Bank since Israel's war on Gaza began last October.
Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 705 Palestinians in the West Bank since, according to the Ramallah-based health ministry.
Israeli officials say at least 24 Israelis, civilians or members of the security forces, have been killed in attacks involving Palestinian fighters or in Israeli military raids over the same period in the West Bank.
*This story was edited by Ahram Online.
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