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| Deadly Explosions Target Hamas Police Checkpoints in Gaza | Deadly Explosions Target Hamas Police Checkpoints in Gaza |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| GAZA — Two explosions that ripped through Hamas police checkpoints in Gaza City late Tuesday killed three police officers and wounded three civilians, security officials said on Wednesday, in an uncommon attack believed to have been carried by forces within the territory. | |
| Hamas, the Islamist militant group that governs Gaza, has been mostly engaged in cross-border clashes with the Israeli military. But at times it has faced internal opposition from more stringent Islamist militants aligned with Al Qaeda or the Islamic State. | Hamas, the Islamist militant group that governs Gaza, has been mostly engaged in cross-border clashes with the Israeli military. But at times it has faced internal opposition from more stringent Islamist militants aligned with Al Qaeda or the Islamic State. |
| The Interior Ministry of Hamas declared a state of emergency throughout Gaza, putting security forces on alert. Eyad Al-Bozom, an Interior Ministry spokesman, said that security forces were investigating the explosions but did not disclose further details, according to Reuters. He said later that a number of suspects had been arrested. | The Interior Ministry of Hamas declared a state of emergency throughout Gaza, putting security forces on alert. Eyad Al-Bozom, an Interior Ministry spokesman, said that security forces were investigating the explosions but did not disclose further details, according to Reuters. He said later that a number of suspects had been arrested. |
| “The sinful hands that carried out this crime will not escape punishment,” Mr. Al-Bozom was quoted as saying. | “The sinful hands that carried out this crime will not escape punishment,” Mr. Al-Bozom was quoted as saying. |
| A spokesman for the Israeli military said he knew of no involvement by Israel in the blasts. Several reports, citing security officials, said the blasts were believed to have been the work of suicide bombers aligned with the Islamic State group, but that information could not be independently verified. Other officials said they believed the attackers were either Islamic State members or collaborators with Israel. | A spokesman for the Israeli military said he knew of no involvement by Israel in the blasts. Several reports, citing security officials, said the blasts were believed to have been the work of suicide bombers aligned with the Islamic State group, but that information could not be independently verified. Other officials said they believed the attackers were either Islamic State members or collaborators with Israel. |
| The attack left body parts strewn over the site and puddles of blood covering the ground. Police officers and masked forces from the military wing of Hamas were deployed to the explosion site, blocking roads and imposing traffic controls. | The attack left body parts strewn over the site and puddles of blood covering the ground. Police officers and masked forces from the military wing of Hamas were deployed to the explosion site, blocking roads and imposing traffic controls. |
| The first blast destroyed a motorcycle as it passed a police checkpoint, witnesses said, according to Reuters. Two police officers were killed and a third Palestinian wounded. It was not immediately clear whether the riders were among the casualties. | The first blast destroyed a motorcycle as it passed a police checkpoint, witnesses said, according to Reuters. Two police officers were killed and a third Palestinian wounded. It was not immediately clear whether the riders were among the casualties. |
| The second explosion, less than an hour later, killed one officer and wounded at least two other people at a police checkpoint elsewhere in the city, the Interior Ministry said. | The second explosion, less than an hour later, killed one officer and wounded at least two other people at a police checkpoint elsewhere in the city, the Interior Ministry said. |
| Tensions have been high for several years between Hamas and the Islamic State branch in Sinai, which is fighting the Egyptian military in the area. The Islamic State fighters subscribe to a Salafist ideology that is at odds with the more pragmatic approach of Hamas, which is rooted in the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt. | |
| Islamic State fighters see themselves as part of a global jihadist movement, while Hamas is part of the Palestinian resistance to Israel. On the ground, the two groups have had violent clashes and political disagreements, most notably over Hamas’s relations with Egypt and control of smuggling tunnels on the border between Egypt and Gaza. | |
| Islamic State commanders, in turn, have criticized Hamas for engaging in talks with Egypt over control of the border between Egypt and Gaza, and have publicly invited Hamas members to defect to their group. | Islamic State commanders, in turn, have criticized Hamas for engaging in talks with Egypt over control of the border between Egypt and Gaza, and have publicly invited Hamas members to defect to their group. |
| In July 2017, jihadists allied with Islamic State in Sinai participated in an attack on Egyptian security forces in Sinai. That came a year after the Islamic State had tried to scupper talks between Hamas and Egypt by closing off smuggling tunnels between Sinai and Gaza. | In July 2017, jihadists allied with Islamic State in Sinai participated in an attack on Egyptian security forces in Sinai. That came a year after the Islamic State had tried to scupper talks between Hamas and Egypt by closing off smuggling tunnels between Sinai and Gaza. |
| Hamas, which took over Gaza after a 2007 civil war with the forces of President Mahmoud Abbas, has clashed with the Israeli miliary as it seeks a loosening of the Israeli blockade of Gaza. | Hamas, which took over Gaza after a 2007 civil war with the forces of President Mahmoud Abbas, has clashed with the Israeli miliary as it seeks a loosening of the Israeli blockade of Gaza. |
| A series of violent clashes and cease-fires has unfolded between the group and the Israeli military. In May, in some of the worst fighting in years, Palestinian militants launched about 250 rockets and mortar shells into southern Israel, and the Israeli military responded with airstrikes and tank fire against targets across the Palestinian territory | A series of violent clashes and cease-fires has unfolded between the group and the Israeli military. In May, in some of the worst fighting in years, Palestinian militants launched about 250 rockets and mortar shells into southern Israel, and the Israeli military responded with airstrikes and tank fire against targets across the Palestinian territory |
| More than two dozen people — at least 22 Palestinians and four Israeli civilians — were killed, and homes and businesses were destroyed, in the fighting. | More than two dozen people — at least 22 Palestinians and four Israeli civilians — were killed, and homes and businesses were destroyed, in the fighting. |
| In March, Israel and Hamas exchanged rocket fire, with one striking the village of Mishmeret, about 20 miles north of Tel Aviv, the Israeli military said. Hamas neither confirmed nor denied that it had carried out the attack. Hours later, Israeli warplanes struck back at Hamas targets throughout the Gaza Strip. | In March, Israel and Hamas exchanged rocket fire, with one striking the village of Mishmeret, about 20 miles north of Tel Aviv, the Israeli military said. Hamas neither confirmed nor denied that it had carried out the attack. Hours later, Israeli warplanes struck back at Hamas targets throughout the Gaza Strip. |