Senior Islamic Jihad leader killed in Gaza blast

Gaza: A senior commander of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement was among seven people killed and 40 wounded in an explosion in the Gaza Strip late on Friday.

Islamic Jihad spokesman accused Israel of mounting an air strike that destroyed a house and vowed revenge for the death of Ayman Fayed, better know as Abu Abdallah.

But an Israeli military spokeswoman denied that there had been any attack in the area.

Among the dead were Fayed's wife, a son and a daughter aged 6 and 5 respectively and three other militants, medics and relatives said.

"It was not us," the Israeli spokeswoman said. "There have been no actions in the Gaza Strip."

She said the explosion could have been the result of factional disputes: "Most likely it was an internal matter."