Palestinians are celebrating the death of a soldier from the Israeli army who was killed in Syria in a suspected assassination.

The Israeli army said on Tuesday that its soldier, 19-year-old Shadi Shafik, was killed during a raid by Syrian forces in the Syrian town of Mafraq, in an apparent hit by Syrian air strikes.

A picture of the soldier, whose name has not been released, circulated on social media in the wake of his death.

The Palestinian president of the West Bank, Mahmoud Abbas, said in a statement that he had been in contact with the father of Shafak’s father and had expressed his grief to him.

“The Israeli government must take responsibility for the death and must compensate the family of the deceased soldier, Shadi, for the loss of his life,” Abbas said.

“It is not enough to simply take action to defend the occupation, and the government must also do everything possible to prevent attacks on our civilians.”

The Israeli defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In a tweet on Monday, the Palestinian leadership called on the Israeli government to “immediately release the body of Shadi and pay compensation to the family”.

Shafik was reported to have served with the 1st Battalion of the Israel Defence Forces in the Gaza Strip.