GAZA CITY: Israel struck a Hamas base in Gaza on Monday in response to a rocket fired from the enclave, while one Palestinian died during what the army called a West Bank raid targeting suspects.
The latest unrest comes amid a significance escalation in Israeli-Palestinian violence, with dozens killed in recent weeks.
The Palestinian health ministry said Amir Ihab Bustami, 21, was killed in a pre-dawn Israeli army raid in Nablus in the north of the occupied West Bank, the scene of repeated clashes over the past year.
The army said it had apprehended two men, Abdul Kamel Jouri and Osama Taweel, who had allegedly shot dead the Israeli soldier Ido Baruch in October. Three others were also arrested, the army said.
The Israeli army said it had collected intelligence for months trying to "locate a hideout apartment where the assailants were hiding".
"Overnight, the forces arrived at the hideout apartment and an exchange of fire was instigated between the forces and the wanted suspects," it added.
Separately, in Gaza, the army said it had struck before dawn "an underground complex containing raw materials used for the manufacturing of rockets belonging to the Hamas organisation".
It said the strikes were "a response" to Saturday's rocket.
Ayman Shamalakh, a gas station owner in the coastal territory, said the strikes hit a nearby events hall, causing glass to shatter in the area, and added that "as for the hall, it was completely destroyed".
Following the Israeli strikes, air raid sirens sounded in communities near the Gaza border, the military said.
Since the start of the year, the conflict has now claimed the lives of 47 Palestinian adults and children, including activists and civilians.
Nine Israeli civilians, including three children, and one Ukrainian civilian have been killed over the same period, according to a tally based on official sources from both sides.
In a move likely to further inflame tensions, Israel's security cabinet late on Sunday announced it would legalise nine West Bank Jewish settlements in response to fatal Palestinian attacks in annexed east Jerusalem.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hardline government also announced a beefed-up security presence in east Jerusalem, the scene of two recent deadly attacks targeting civilians. - AFP
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
