Israel has killed Hamas’s leader in the West Bank city of Jenin amid a major series of raids in the occupied territories.

The IDF said on Friday that they had killed three members of the Palestinian terror group, including Wissam Ayman Khazem, in an exchange of gunfire after he was identified in a vehicle in the area.

In a statement, Hamas said he had “ascended to martyrdom” following an airstrike after he engaged with Israeli forces, however.

The IDF said Maysara Masharqa and Arafat Amer were also killed as they tried to flee the vehicle.

The two men “operated under the command of Khazem and took part in shooting attacks against Israeli communities,” a military spokesman added.

According to the Wafa news agency, an 82-year-old man, Tawfiq Qandil, was also killed by the IDF in Jenin.

At least 20 Palestinians have now been killed during a wide-scale Israeli operation that has targeted the cities of Jenin, Tubas and Tulkarem, among others, in the West Bank.

Operation Summer Camps comes in response to Israel’s concern about a growing threat to its security from the occupied territories amid the war against Hamas and clashes with Hezbollah in the north.

In a briefing, the IDF’s Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani said earlier this week: "This terror threat in this area is not new. It hasn't [sic] started yesterday and it's not going to end tomorrow.”

Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz said that the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) have been "operating with full force... in the Jenin and Tulkarm refugee camps to dismantle Iranian-Islamic terror infrastructures established there.”

He claimed that the Islamic regime was attempting to open a new front against Israel in the West Bank.

"We must deal with the threat just as we deal with the terrorist infrastructure in Gaza, including the temporary evacuation of Palestinian residents and whatever steps are required," Katz added.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Thursday that Israel’s operation was “deeply concerning”.

Speaking to the BBC, one resident of the Nur Shamas refugee camp, where Israeli forces have been operating, said it felt like she was living in Gaza.

"I have 10-year-old triplets, and they trapped us in a room,” she said.

"Then they started the explosions - five explosions in total. Imagine the walls shaking and your young children clinging to you.”