Israeli strike kills Gaza official
Attack kills commander of armed group, who also worked in the interior ministry.
Published On 23 Oct 2007
Witnesses said an Israeli missile destroyed a car on a coastal road in Gaza, killing al-Hasanat and wounding another person on Tuesday.
The Gaza Strip has been run by Hamas since it seized control in June.
Jenin killings
In a separate incident in the Fatah-controlled West Bank, Israeli forces shot dead two members of the Islamic Jihad group in the town of Jenin.
Mohammed Jawabreh and Khaled Abu Ali died in an exchange of fire with Israeli special forces trying to arrest them, a Palestinian official said on Tuesday.
An Israeli army spokesman said forces took up position around a house near Jenin to arrest “two terrorists” who were hit when they tried to escape.
They were found wearing flak jackets with two M-16s next to their bodies, the spokesman said.
The six-hour military operation started at 1.00 am on Tuesday when Israeli special forces entered Sabah el-Kheir suburb, west of Jenin, and surrounded the two men in a farmland there.
Eyewitnesses told Al Jazeera that the Israeli special forces closed the area before the army deployed reinforcements, backed by helicopters.
An Israeli soldier was wounded and six Palestinians arrested during the raid.
Israeli forces withdrew from Jenin city following the raid that is seen as a strong blow to the Islamic Jihad, particularly its military wing al-Quds Brigades, Al Jazeera reported.
Jawabreh and Abu Ali were transferred to Khalil Suleiman hospital in Jenin as the Islamic Jihad called on all citizens to march in their funeral procession.
Source: Al Jazeera, News Agencies