Jerusalem: Palestinian paramilitary group leader Jamal Abu Samhadana and three of his associates were killed in an air strike at a training camp in Gaza.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) in a statement said that it carried out an aerial attack on Thursday at a Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), an umbrella organisation of Palestinian militant factions that Samhadana headed, training camp.
"A group of terrorists were training in the compound in preparation for a large scale terrorist attack. Amongst them was Jamal Abu Smahadna, who was killed in the attack," it said.
The IDF however did not say if Samhadana was the target of the attack. The PRC has vowed revenge for the attack with one of its spokesman, Abu Abir, saying, "The Zionists and Israelis have opened the gates of hell by assassinating Abu Samhadana".
"This is a criminal assassination and Palestinians have the right to respond to this ugly crime by all means," Khaled Abu Hilal, an Interior Ministry spokesman said.
"Abu Samhadana paid with his life for the freedom and dignity of his people," Abu Hilal added.
Israel had accused Samhadana of involvement in several attacks including the recent barrage of rocket attacks.
His appointment as the head of Hamas interior ministry special forces had upset both Fatah and Israel, which had declared that he remained a legitimate target despite the appointment.
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