Hamas mourns senior military leaders killed in Israeli raid

By Mohammad Abo Don

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - The Ezzeddin al-Qassam Brigades, the Hamas group’s military wing, on Wednesday announced the death of senior military commanders in an Israeli raid on Gaza.

Basim Isa, commander of al-Qassam Brigades in the Gaza legion, along with a number of other senior commanders were killed in an Israeli raid on Gaza, said a brigades statement.

The statement did not give the names of other casualties of the raid.

Isa was considered one of the top commanders in the brigades, as he was responsible for the biggest legion in the Hamas armed wing.

At least 53 Palestinians have been killed and 320 others injured in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip after Israeli police stormed the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem and assaulted worshippers.

Five Israelis have also been killed by rocket fire from the Gaza Strip.

The flare-up comes against the backdrop of last week’s Israeli court order forcing the eviction of Palestinian families from the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and annexed the entire city in 1980 – a move that has never been recognized by the international community.

*Ahmed Asmar contributed to this report from Ankara