The Hamas Izz al-Din Brigade terrorist who masterminded the suicide bombing and prepared the explosives that took the life of an elderly Israeli woman in Dimona last February, was himself killed early Sunday morning in an IDF counterterrorism operation in the Rafidiyeh neighborhood in Hebron.

IDF soldiers from the elite Duvdevan unit circled the building and then shelled the home of 25-year-old Shihab al-Natsheh after he refused to surrender and instead began shooting at the troops, according to local residents. The soldiers also arrested his assistant, Wal Bitar as well as a second Hamas terrorist, Aba Abu Aisha.

The terrorist organization announce it would avenge the operative's death. "Our response will be swift and painful," said the group in a statement released to the media.