A Palestinian was killed during clashes in the West Bank on Wednesday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said, the latest in a series of near-daily confrontations.
Israeli security forces raided a village of Deir al-Hatab in order to apprehend a terrorist suspected of involvement in carrying out the shooting attack at on an Israeli bus and taxi adjacent to the city of Nablus last Sunday.
Salman Imran, who the Islamist militant group Hamas claimed as a member, was active in the organization called "Lion's Den," responsible for recent attacks on troops deployed in the Nablus area as well as on settlers traveling there.
He was previously imprisoned for being a part of a Hamas military network which planned attacks. In an audio message circulating on social media, Imran said he was engaged in a gun fight with Israeli soldiers and called on other men to join.
The suspect shot at the soldiers while barricaded inside the residential building. Witnesses said dozens of Palestinian gunmen fired at Israeli forces in an attempt to foil their operation.
As a result of the shooting of the suspect toward IDF soldiers, the brother of the suspect was injured while he was outside the residence.
The IDF spokesperson's Unit said in a statement that "the soldiers responded with live fire toward the residence and used a variety of means, including fragmentation grenades and a bulldozer."
"In addition, shots were fired toward the soldiers from a number of sources. The soldiers responded with live fire toward the sources of the shooting. Hits on a number of armed Palestinians were identified and one assailant was killed as a result of the shooting," the IDF said.
Videos on social media seemed to show Imran being escorted outside his house by Israeli soldiers.
"These clashes are part of an escalation in our resistance in the West Bank and is our people's response to what is happening in the blessed Al Aqsa Mosque," said Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said the man who was killed, 21-year-old Alaa Zaghal, was shot in the head. Palestinian medics claim he was unarmed when Israeli forces fired at him near the town's entrance, away from where the clashes were taking place.
Palestinian sources said six other Palestinian militants and two journalists were wounded. The IDF claimed no knowledge of any wounded members of the press.
The Israeli military has intensified its raids in the West Bank in recent months following a spate of Palestinian street attacks that killed 19 people in Israel and as a general election approaches on November 1st.
The Israeli raids have killed some 100 Palestinians, making this year the deadliest since 2015. Most of those killed are said by Israel to have been militants, but local youths protesting the incursions as well as some civilians have also been killed in the violence.