Hamas militant killed by suicide bomber in Gaza
GAZA, Palestinian Territory — A suicide bomber blew himself up in the southern Gaza Strip on Thursday, killing a Hamas militant who was trying to stop the attacker from crossing into Egypt, Hamas announced, blaming an Islamic State sympathizer for carrying out the unprecedented attack.
It marked the first time that Hamas, which has carried out dozens of suicide attacks over the years targeting Israelis, was itself struck in such an assault. The Hamas-run Interior Ministry said five other Hamas security forces and an accomplice of the bomber were wounded.
The ministry described the assailant and his colleague as “ideologically deviant” — a term Hamas uses to describe members of the Islamic State group and other extremists. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Hamas, an Islamic militant group that seeks Israel’s destruction, has ruled Gaza with an iron fist since seizing control of the coastal area in 2007. Hamas has since clashed repeatedly with more radical groups, which have carried out their own attacks against Israel in part to undermine Hamas.