The Islamic Jihad (Holy War) claimed responsibility on Wednesday for an earlier attack in the Israeli coastal town of Hadera, saying it was a retaliation for the Israeli killing of a Jihad top militant.

Earlier, a suicide bomber killed four Israelis and wounded some 30 others in the northern Israeli coastal town of Hadera.

Loay al-Saadi, a Jihad commander in the West Bank, was shot dead by Israeli troops during a raid in the West Bank town of Tulkarm on Sunday.

He was the most senior Palestinian militant to be killed since militant groups including Jihad agreed to abide by a de facto truce with Israel in March.

In the wake of the killing, Jihad vowed "blood for blood" revenges. The group's militants have fired dozens of homemade rockets at Israel since then, which prompted the Israeli army shelled the Gaza Strip in response.

Source: Xinhua