News / Palestine

Gaza security forces arrest suspected killer of top Hamas figure

Tuesday, 11 April 2017 3:06 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 11 April 2017 3:11 PM ]

Slain Hamas official and military commander Mazen Fuqahaa

Palestinian security forces have reportedly arrested a man suspected of assassinating Mazen Fuqahaa, a high-ranking military commander of Hamas resistance movement, in the southern part of the besieged Gaza City late last month.

The Arabic-language Palestine Alaan news agency reported that the suspect, whose identity and affiliation were not immediately known, was arrested on Monday evening. He is said to stand trial very soon.

Speaking at Fuqahaa’s funeral on March 25, Mahmoud al-Zahar, a co-founder of Hamas, said the Palestinian resistance movement would hopefully get rid of the spies and mercenaries in the Gaza Strip who are serving the Israeli enemy.

“A major operation must get underway in order to identify all those responsible for the recent criminal act,” he said.

Ezzedeen al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, denounced Fuqahaa’s assassination in a statement, holding Israeli authorities fully responsible for the 38-year-old’s death.

The body of Palestinian Hamas official Mazen Fuqahaa is carried by members of the Ezzedeen al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, during his funeral in Gaza City on March 25, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

“The Israeli regime is the architect of the latest criminal act. The Israeli enemy seeks to impose its equation of terror through targeted killing of our brave resistance fighters. We will abort such attempts though. The occupier regime of al-Quds will eventually regret its conduct. They should know that if you play with fire, you get burned,” the statement read.

Khalil al-Hayya, a senior Hamas official, promised retaliation for Fuqahaa’s assassination.

Unknown assailants opened fire at Fuqahaa at the entrance to a residence in Tal al-Hawa neighborhood of Gaza City on March 24. They shot four bullets into the man’s head before they fled the area.

Izzat al-Rishq, a member of Hamas' political bureau, said the assassination was carried out with a gun equipped with a silencer.

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