Hamas interior minister killed in IDF Gaza air strike

An Israel Air Force strike in the center of Gaza City on Thursday killed Hamas Interior Minister Said Siam. Palestinian sources said that the head of Islamist militant group's security apparatus, Salah Abu Shreh, and its military commander in Gaza City, Mahmoud Watfah, were also killed in the attack. The IAF strike was on the house of Siam's brother, who was also killed. Hamas TV later confirmed that Siam had been killed. Six other Hamas operatives were wounded in the air strike in the heart of Gaza City, the sources said. The IDF Southern Command ordered the airstrike on the basis of precise intelligence provided by the Shin Bet security service. A Hamas official vowed vengeance for Siam's death. "The blood of Said Siam will be a curse on the Zionist entity," Mohammed Nazzal told Al-Jazeera television. Siam was the effective founder of the Hamas-led police force. He pushed for Hamas' bloody 2006 coup in Gaza, during which it ousted the rival Fatah faction from power. As interior minister in Hamas' government in Gaza, Siam oversaw thousands of security agents and was widely feared. He was the number three behind Ismail Haniyeh and Mahmoud Zahar, and was seen by many as the most extreme of the triumvirate.

Palestinian sources said Thursday that an Israel Air Force strike in Gaza City has killed two of Hamas' most senior officials, including Hamas Interior Minister Said Siam.

Six other Hamas operatives were wounded in the air strike in the heart of the city, the sources said.

Earlier Thursday, Israel Defense Forces troops, backed by helicopter gunships, tanks and heavy guns, thrust further into Gaza City than ever before, seeking out Hamas gunmen, and carrying out the army's most relentless shelling of the Gaza Strip in nearly three weeks of fighting.

Channel 10 television reported Thursday evening that troops were operating in the heart of the city, and had taken control of three of its neighborhoods. The television posed the question whether this could in fact be the delayed third stage of the IDF operation in Gaza.

Live video footage from a Reuters camera in central Gaza showed sustained artillery fire from the edge of the city for several hours during the day. Shells exploded in downtown areas and long machine-gun bursts echoed off Gaza's cramped housing blocks.