An explosion ripped through an apartment building in Gaza City this week, killing at least eight people, including a senior Hamas activist who was sought by Israeli and Palestinian security forces.
Palestinian police said that Sunday’s explosion occurred when bombs being made by members of the militant fundamentalist Hamas movement blew up prematurely.
Among the dead was Kamal Kheil, a member of Izz a-Din al-Kassam, the military wing of Hamas. A 3-year-old girl was also among the dead, according to witnesses.
The explosion, which took place on the second floor of an apartment building in Gaza, also left at least 30 people wounded.
Large numbers of Palestinian police and ambulances came to the site, which was reportedly strewn with body parts as far as 300 yards from the apartment building.
Israel Radio reported that bomb crews found several other explosive devices that did not go off at the site, as well as several hand grenades and assault rifles.
In a statement issued Sunday, Hamas claimed that Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Yasser Arafat had conspired with Israel to kill Kheil in the explosion.
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