Gaza, July 7 : Palestinian militant group, Hamas has claimed responsibility for killing an Israeli security officer in a shooting attack in the West Bank.

The attacker, identified as Abdulwahab Khalayleh, a 20-year-old from a small town near Hebron in the southern West Bank, rammed earlier on Tuesday his vehicle into a group of pedestrians in the city center before being shot and killed by an armed Israeli civilian.

Hamas acknowledged in a statement that Khalayleh was its member, and called him a "martyr" who carried out the attack in "heroic self-defense" against the Israeli occupation forces. The group vowed to continue and escalate its resistance against Israel.

Israeli police said eight Israelis were injured in the attack, three of them in critical condition.

The timing of the attack coincided with a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and security officials to assess the ongoing military operation in the Jenin camp in the West Bank, according to Israel Radio.

The operation launched by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Monday has killed 10 Palestinians and injured 120, drawing widespread condemnation from the Palestinians and the international community.