Hamas buries commanders killed by Israel
Funerals have been held for three Hamas commanders killed in
the latest round of Israeli air raids in the Gaza Strip that left a total of 29
Palestinians dead.
According to Al-Jazeera, te al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' military wing, said Mohamed
Abo Shamaleh, Raed al-Attar and Mohamed Barhoum were killed in an attack in
Rafah on Thursday, little more than a day after an attempt on the life of its
leader Mohammed Deif.
Thousands of people joined their funeral processions as they
snaked through the streets of Rafah, strewn with rubble from previous Israeli
attacks.
Separately, another 26 people were killed in Israeli strikes
in Gaza on
Thursday, raising the overall death toll to 2,077 in 45 days of conflict.
Hamas condemned the assasinations, with Sami Abu Zuhri, a
spokesman, calling them a "big Israeli crime" for which it would pay.
Al Jazeera's Jacky Rowland, reporting from West Jerusalem,
said Israel
had turned to its historical tactic of targeting senior figures.
"This could be seen as an acknowledgement that military
tactics have not been delivering on several levels," she said, including
damage to its international reputation.
Al Jazeera's Jane Ferguson, reporting from Gaza , said the Hamas commanders killed on Thursday
had been implicated in the kidnapping of its soldier Gilad Shalit, who was
freed in 2011 under a prisoner swap deal with Hamas.
Hamas is seeking an end to a seven-year Israeli-Egyptian
blockade that has battered Gaza 's economy, while
Israel
wants guarantees that Hamas will disarm.
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