An Israeli air strike in the southern Gaza Strip late Saturday night killed a local leader from the armed wing of Hamas, the movement stated. It added the strike killed a local commander in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah. The movement said a second strike targeted a security outpost in southern Gaza, but caused no causalities.
The victim was a local head of the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas. Three other Hamas activists were wounded by the Israeli fire. An Israeli spokeswoman conveyed the target of the air strike was a Hamas member who had been involved in smuggling of weapons. She added a second strike targeted a Hamas post near the Gazan town of Khan Younis.
According to Haaretz, Israeli officials said that the army was planning to intensify its Gaza Strip operations as well as killings of Palestinian activists in response to the ongoing rocket fire from the coastal terrirtory.
