Several Palestinians were hurt after Israeli police opened fire and used tear gas on them while they were participating in a protest on Gaza Strip's eastern border with Israel, reported Al Jazeera.
This development comes amidst the ongoing confrontation between Israel and Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip and aims to unite Iranian proxies in the region.
The strike near Gaza City that killed Iyad al-Hassani, along with another man the military said was his assistant, dealt yet another blow to the terror group and further dampened hopes for a ceasefire.
In a live televised address Wednesday night that ended just moments ago Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outlined the reasons for the continuation of Israel's "Operation Shield and Arrow" against the Islamic Jihad terror organization's bases and infrastructure in Gaza.
The southern Gaza Strip neighbourhood of Khan Younis was the focus of the strike conducted early hours of Thursday, targeting a commander of a rocket unit, Al Jazeera reported quoting Israeli forces.
The United Nations Security Council is due to hold an emergency meeting on Wednesday afternoon to discuss the situation in Gaza as widely-expected Palestinian rocket fire failed to materialize on Tuesday night.
The Israeli army began hitting targets in the Strip just after 2 am in what appeared to be a coordinated surprise attack on the group's senior leaders.
Israel's Ministry of Defense revealed that on Wednesday security forces thwarted an attempt to smuggle firearms, silencers and gun cartridges as they were en route from the Gaza Strip to people in Judea and Samaria.