Three members of Hamas' Executive Force police died in Gaza City on Tuesday night when their vehicle was hit by shelling from the Israeli navy, an official of the Islamic movement said. "Three members of the Executive Force were killed on Tuesday night in the explosion of their car caused by Israeli naval bombardment," said Ihab al-Ghossein, a spokesman for the Hamas administration in the Gaza Strip. Later Hamas said that Israel had not been involved in the strike.
However the families of the victims said two of them, Youssef Hammada and Hodeibi Khader, both aged around 20, were members of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an armed faction linked to Fatah movement. A Hamas official conveyed an investigation would be opened into the incident. Three more Hamas members were wounded.
An Israeli army spokeswoman told AFP: "We are not aware of this incident." Israel's Channel 10 quoted Israeli officials as saying Palestinian gunmen fired an anti-tank rocket at the car. Witnesses also spoke about gunfire in the area after the blast, indicating an internal clash.
Witnesses had earlier spoken of two people killed in the explosion, in a western neighbourhood of the city.
