Gaza, Oct 14 (Reuters) – An Israeli air strike in Gaza
killed a Palestinian gunman and wounded another on Sunday,
hospital officials said, hours after Israel killed the leader of
an al Qaeda-linked militant group.
An Israeli military spokesman confirmed there had been an
Israeli attack in Gaza but gave no details.
The air strike, on a motorcycle in southern Gaza, came hours
after Israel killed two other militants in a similar attack late
on Saturday.
Hamas, the Islamist group that rules Gaza, identified one of
the men killed in that air strike as Hisham Al-Saedni, head of
the Jihadist Salafi group Tawhid and Jihad (One God and Holy
War), a group with an Islamist ideology shared by al Qaeda.
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A number of Jihadist Salafi groups have surfaced in Gaza in
recent years. Unlike Hamas, they endorse an ideology of global
Jihad and some accuse Hamas of failing to implement Islamic laws
in the coastal enclave.
Hamas rejects permanent peace with Israel and the two sides
fought a three-week war from December 2008 into January 2009.
The border is tense, with frequent clashes. About 40 rockets
have been fired from Gaza into Israel in October.
Israel says it holds Hamas responsible for any attacks
launched from Gaza, which has been under the group’s control
since 2007.
(Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi; Writing by Maayan Lubell;
Editing by Bill Trott)
