Israeli airstrike kills 3 senior Hamas leaders

Palestinians move the wreckage of a vehicle following an Israeli airstrike off the main street in Gaza City in the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2014. At least two were killed in the car outside a grocery shop, and a few others were wounded by an Israel airstrike on a Gaza City street, according to the Palestine Red Crescent Society.
Palestinians move the wreckage of a vehicle following an Israeli airstrike off the main street in Gaza City in the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2014. At least two were killed in the car outside a grocery shop, and a few others were wounded by an Israel airstrike on a Gaza City street, according to the Palestine Red Crescent Society.

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — An Israeli airstrike in Gaza killed three senior commanders of the Hamas military wing Thursday, delivering a likely blow to the organization's morale and highlighting the long reach of Israel's intelligence services.

The predawn strike leveled a four-story house in a densely populated neighborhood of the southern town of Rafah, killing six people, including the three senior Hamas commanders.

The three had played a key role in expanding Hamas' military capabilities in recent years, including digging attack tunnels leading to Israel, training of fighters and smuggling of weapons to Gaza, Israel said.

It was not immediately clear if their assassination would prompt a change in Hamas strategy in the current round of fighting with Israel or diminish the group's ability to fire rockets at Israel. The military wing, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, is a secretive organization.

Read Friday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

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