GAZA (AFP) - An official from Hamas, the main Palestinian Islamist movement, was killed by Israeli fire in a refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, the group said.
Hamas's armed wing said in a statement that Abdelaluf Nabar, 25, was struck by a rocket fired from an Israeli combat helicopter on the Jabaliya refugee camp, the focus of a massive Israeli military offensive launched 11 days ago.
But Israel denied it had launched an air strike on the area, with an army spokesman saying soldiers had fired on a group of Palestinians who were about to fire an anti-tank rocket, causing the weapon to explode.
Nabar's death brought to 103 the number of Palestinians killed during Israel's "Days of Penitence" operation, which the army says is aimed at halting militant rocket attacks from Gaza on Israeli soil.
Since the start of the intifada or Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation four years ago, a total of 4,467 people have been killed, including 3,439 Palestinians and 954 Israelis.