Hamas military wing says member killed in IDF strike, a first in fighting between Israel and PIJ

Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent

The military wing of Hamas says a member has been killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, marking the first official death from the terror group amid fighting between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Hamas says Muhammad Afana from the Jabaliya refugee camp was killed amid the “continuous Zionist aggression” in the Gaza Strip.

Israel has said two deadly blasts in Jabaliya earlier today and last night were caused by misfired PIJ rockets. It is not clear if Afana was killed in one of those incidents.

The Israel Defense Forces has stressed it is only interested in targeting PIJ operatives and sites across the Gaza Strip, not Hamas.

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