At least one Palestinian has been killed and 12 wounded, following an Israeli air strike Thursday in Gaza City. The raid came just hours after Palestinian militants attacked an Israeli army base in the West Bank, killing two soldiers.
Israeli helicopters fired missiles at a car carrying suspected members of the Islamic Jihad, Palestinian residents in Gaza City said. The organization claimed that Mahmoud Zatme, a leader of the military wing, was killed.
Black smoke billowed over Gaza City from the car, which witnesses said was destroyed in the attack.
The Israeli military had no immediate comment, but regularly targets members of the group, which has carried out frequent suicide bombings and other terror attacks against Israel.
The raid is the second in three days by Israel in Gaza City. On Tuesday, an Israeli F-16 warplane destroyed a car, killing a senior member of Hamas and six other people, four of them civilians.
Palestinians condemn such attacks, describing them as assassinations. Israel calls such operations targeted killings, and says they are aimed at stopping wanted Palestinian activists from carrying out more violent attacks.
Israel launched Thursday's raid some hours after Palestinian gunmen infiltrated a military base in the Jordan Valley, killing two soldiers and wounding nine others.
Later Thursday, Palestinian witnesses said, Israeli undercover police officers entered the center of Tulkarem, in the West Bank. At least two armed Palestinians were reported killed in the town during exchanges of gunfire.
