A Palestinian fighter has been killed in an explosion in a car in the southern Gaza Strip that Palestinian officials blamed on Israel. The Israeli army denied any involvement in the death on Saturday of Khaled Abu Sitta, a senior leader of the Abu al-Rish Brigades, who was killed when his car blew up as he drove at night between the southern Gaza cities of Khan Yunus and Rafah. Palestinian security sources and members of the Abu al-Rish Brigades said an Israeli missile fired from an unidentified aircraft hit Abu Sitta's car, killing him and turning the vehicle into charred and twisted metal. The Abu al-Rish Brigades said they would avenge Abu Sitta's death. Abu Haron, a spokesman for the group, which is linked to the mainstream Fatah faction, said: "We do not forget the blood of our martyrs and our reaction will be strong and painful."
The Israeli army, which often admits to strikes on fighters' cars, denied involvement in the incident. "The Israel Defence Forces was not involved in this incident," an army spokeswoman said.