[Ynet] Explosion rocks Deir al-Balah in central Gazoo; 4 of 6 victims members of Hamas's military wing, per Paleostinian reports; military wing blames Israel for blast, calls it 'deplorable Zionist crime'; IDF disavows responsibility.Six Paleostinians were killed Saturday evening in an kaboom in the city of Deir al-Balah in the central Gazoo strip. Four of the casualties belonged to Hamas, one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbung millipede,'s military wing.
Gazoo media reported the kaboom was a "work accident," meaning the bad boyz were potted when explosives they were dealing with went off.
While Paleostinians searched the area for survivors, Hamas's military wing blamed Israel for the blast, calling the incident in a statement a "deplorable Zionist crime" perpetrated against its fighters.
"During a complicated security and intelligence operation conducted by Qassam Brigades to investigate a serious and a grave security incident conducted by the Zionist enemy against Paleostinian resistance, a deplorable crime took place against our Mujahideen in the area of Zawayda in central Gazoo Strip," it said.
Hamas provided no further details.
One of the victims of the kaboom, as per Paleostinian reports, was a commander of an engineering unit in the central strip division, while another was a communications commander for the same division.
A Gazoo source told Ynet, meanwhile, that the casualties were members of an engineering group that attempted to dismantle an Israeli rocket that had not detonated. As they were working to defuse it, it went off, he added.
The blast rocked Gazoo near 7:30pm, with Rooters television capturing a pillar of smoke rising above the village of Zawayda near the coast of Gazoo, far from the border with Israel where tensions have escalated in recent weeks.
Denying any culpability for the kaboom and consequent deaths, "The IDF is not involved in this incident in any way," a military front man said.
| The Times of Israel adds: |
The health ministry said several bodies had been brought to a local hospital. It identified the dead as Taher Essam Shahin, 29, Wissam Ahmed, 37,Musa Ibrahim Salman 30, Mahmoud Walid, 34, Mahmoud Mohammed al-Touashi, 27, and Mahmoud Saeed Hilmi al-Qshahawi 27. It called them all "deaders."