An airstrike conducted by the IDF has killed Muhammad Abdullah, the head of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in the Nur Shams camp, located east of Tulkarem in western Shomron.

Abdullah assumed the leadership of the Gaza-based terrorist organization in the region after the IDF eliminated his predecessor, Muhamad Jabber, in an operation on August 29. A second, unnamed terrorist was also killed in Thursday’s airstrike, according to the IDF.

The IDF said Abdullah had been responsible for orchestrating numerous attacks, including those targeting Israeli troops with explosives. Following the operation, Israeli forces seized M-16 rifles and the vehicle belonging to the militants.

This marks the second high-profile IDF airstrike in Tulkarem in recent weeks. Last week, Israeli Air Force fighter jets carried out a rare strike in the region, targeting top Hamas operative Zahi Yaser Abd al-Razeq Oufi. According to the Palestinian Authority, the strike resulted in at least 18 fatalities, making it the deadliest in Yehuda and Shomron since the Second Intifada, which took place from 2000 to 2005.

Oufi had been planning an imminent terrorist attack, the IDF said, and was linked to several other incidents, including a thwarted car bombing near Ateret in Samaria. He was also accused of smuggling weapons and assisting in the formation of terrorist networks on behalf of Hamas.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)