Hamas Militant Killed in 'Mystery' Gaza Blast

A member of Hamas' armed wing was killed Thursday in a "mysterious explosion" in the southern Gaza town of Rafah, the group and Palestinian medical sources said.

The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades announced the death in a statement, naming the militant as 20-year-old Ali Nayef al-Haj.

"Ali Nayef al-Haj of Yebna refugee camp was martyred on Thursday in an accidental internal explosion," the group said.

The group gave no additional details, but it also made no accusations that Israel was involved in the death.

Adham Abu Selmiya, a spokesman for the Hamas-run medical services in the Gaza Strip, said only that "a citizen was killed in a mysterious explosion," adding that the man's body arrived at the Abu Yusef al-Najjar hospital "in tatters."

Militants in the Gaza Strip have regularly been injured or even killed while handling explosive materials.

Separately Thursday morning, the Israeli military said two mortar shells were fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel.

They landed in the southern Eshkol region without causing damage or injuries, a military spokesman told Agence France Presse.

In the last week, six projectiles have been fired into Israel from the Palestinian territory, and July saw a rise in rocket and mortar shell fire from Gaza.

The uptick comes after several months of calm following a flare-up in April when an anti-tank missile hit an Israeli school bus, killing a teenager.

Israel responded to that attack with a series of air strikes that killed at least 19 Palestinians in the deadliest violence since Israel's devastating 22-day assault on Gaza in December 2008-January 2009.

The violence raised fears of another offensive, but on April 10 the Islamist movement Hamas which rules the Palestinian territory announced a return to the truce which ended Israel's Operation Cast Lead.