An explosion destroyed a Hamas activist's house in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, killing at least four people, including a baby, in what Hamas called an Israeli air strike and Israel described as an internal blast. The blast, which also injured about 25 people, destroyed the two-storey dwelling and damaged several other homes in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya.
Hamas said an Israel Air Force aircraft attacked the house belonging to Ahmed Hamouda, whom it described as one of its senior bomb-makers. "The Beit Lahiya massacre was caused by an Israeli strike that targeted a Qassam leader," Hamas said in a statement.
An Israeli spokeswoman denied any Israeli involvement. "It was not related to the IDF. There were no IDF operations. It was an internal explosion," an Israeli military spokeswoman said in Tel Aviv.
Earlier Thursday, Israeli forces killed two Palestinian fighters.
