7 Palestinians killed, 20 injured in a Hamas leader car explosion in Gaza City

Massacre committed by collaborators in Gaza

[ 25/07/2008 - 09:03 PM ]

GAZA, (PIC)--

Four members of the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, and a little girl were killed on Friday evening in an explosion that targeted a group having a picnic on the Gaza beach.

(Aljazeera tv reported later that the death toll reached seven people).

It is believed that the explosion is the work of the remnants of the mutiny trend within the Fatah movement, as three of them were arrested Friday morning after targeting the home of Dr. Marwan Abu Ras with an explosive device that caused vast material damage to house, but no human casualties.

Dr. Sami Abu Zuhri, Hamas spokesman in Gaza, told PIC that the atrocity targeted a mosque organised picnic to the beach using a road-side bomb which has resulted in the death of 4 Qassam fighters and a little girl who was in the vicinity of the explosion and whose identity was still unknown.

He stressed that the atrocity was premeditated and said: "We hold the remnants of the criminal groups and their leaders who fled to Ramallah responsible for this crime."

The Qassam Brigades for its part announced the death of four of its fighters; the two commanders Ammar Mesbeh and Iyad al-Hayya, who is the nephew of Dr. Khalil al-Hayya, a prominent Hamas leader and MP, as well as Nidal al-Mbayyed and Osma al-Helew, stressing that "Collaborating gangs targeted the car of the Qassam fighters with the bomb."

The Qassam Brigades held the "Zionist occupation and its agents, the remnants of the collaborating trend are responsible for the Gaza beach massacre."

Local sources informed the PIC correspondent that 20 others were wounded in the explosion including Osama al-Hayya, the son of Dr. Khalil al-Hayya and Munther al-Mghari, the director of the Awkaf in Gaza.

4 dead, 20 injured as car of Hamas leader explodes near Gaza City

Date: 25 / 07 / 2008 Time: 21:29
Gaza – Ma'an –

Four are dead and twenty injured after the car of a Hamas leader in Gaza exploded west of Gaza City Friday evening.

One of the dead is reported to be Amar Mussubyih, who was wanted by the Israeli army. He was a prominent leader of Hamas' Al-Qassam Brigades in the area west of Gaza City. Also killed were Iyad Al-Hayah, nephew of local Hamas leader Khalil Al-Haya and Nidal Mabiad. All are affiliated to the Al-Qassam Brigades.

The fourth death was that of an unidentified little girl.

Ihab Al-Ghussain, spokesperson for the de facto ministry of the interior, said that the reasons behind the explosion are unknown. He affirmed that Gaza police will search for the perpetrators, though he did not rule out the idea that the deaths were the result of "outsourcing" by the Israeli army.

This is the third explosion in Gaza on Friday. Earlier in the day, one Palestinian was killed in the first blast at Ag-Gazira café in the centre of the city. The man dead was assumed to have been the bomber.

Shortly after the café bombing there was another explosion outside the house of Dr Marwan Abu Ras, a Hamas member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, also in Gaza City, though no one was injured.

***updated 10:10 local time

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