Israeli troops killed a militant commander during a raid in the West Bank today and ended a six-day incursion in a militant stronghold in Gaza, Palestinian security sources said.
Fadi Khafisha of al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, which is part of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah group, was known for helping to prepare suicide bombings in Israel, the security sources said.
They said Israeli soldiers shot him dead in the Old City at the heart of Nablus and that another senior militant was among five people wounded in the fighting.
An army spokeswoman said there had been an exchange of fire in Nablus and that the gunmen opened fire first.
An Israeli security chief said this week that Palestinian militants could have been emboldened by the ability of the Lebanese group Hizbullah in holding off army assaults during a 34-day war.
Israeli forces also ended a six-day raid in the Gaza militant stronghold of Shajaiya, Palestinian residents said.
Israel has killed more 200 Palestinians, about half civilians, during a two-month-old Gaza offensive launched after a soldier was captured in a cross-border raid.