Gazans bury policemen killed in rare internal attacks

Thousands of Palestinians are taking part in funerals of three Hamas policemen killed in rare bombings at Gaza City checkpoints the previous night.

Hamas’s Interior Ministry says that investigations were ongoing, but an officer close to the probe said a suicide bomber was involved in one of the blasts that had targeted two checkpoints.

Hamas’s security service was investigating whether the other also involved a suicide bomber. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to talk to reporters.

رئيس المكتب السياسي لحركة حماس إسماعيل هنية وعدد من قيادات الحركة خلال صلاة الجنازة على جثماني الشهيدين ماجد النديم وعلاء الغرابلي من المسجد العمري الكبير في غزة.#امن_غزة_خط_احمر pic.twitter.com/51DwQ6SYNj

— المركز الفلسطيني للإعلام (@PalinfoAr) August 28, 2019

Hamas hasn’t identified possible perpetrators, but the bombings bear the hallmarks of extremists influenced by the Islamic State group.

Hamas, which has run Gaza since 2007, has fought several rounds of bloody fighting with radical Salafists. However, these were the first coordinated bombings at Hamas-run checkpoints.

— AP