Gazan scientist, doctor said found dead in Algeria

A scientist and a doctor from the Gaza Strip died in Algeria on Sunday under unexplained circumstances, Palestinian media reported, sparking speculation that they may have been assassinated.

According to the reports, the Palestinian embassy in Algeria informed the scientists’ families that the two were found dead in their apartment, apparently from a gas leak or electrical malfunction.

Algerian authorities were still working to determine a cause of death, the reports said.

Some Arabic media reports claimed the two were assassinated, but there was no confirmation of this. There have been two high-profile cases of killings of Palestinian scientists affiliated with the Hamas terror, in recent months. Those cases were blamed on Israel.

The two were said to both be from the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis. It was not immediately clear if they  were connected to Hamas, the terror group that rules in Gaza.

In April, Hamas accused Israel’s Mossad spy agency of killing one its scientists living in Malaysia in a drive-by-shooting.

Hamas vowed to retaliate against Israel over the killing of Fadi Mohammad al-Batsh, who it said was a commander in its military wing. Israeli media reported that Batsh was a key player in a military drone program being developed by Hamas and an expert in rockets.

Batsh’s death came after Tunisian engineer Mohamed Zouari was killed outside his home in the port city of Sfax in December 2016, a shooting Hamas also blamed on Israel.

Zouari was reported to be the head of the Palestinian terror group’s drone program.