GAZA (Reuters) - A senior commander of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement was among at least five people killed and 40 wounded in an explosion in the Gaza Strip late on Friday, a group spokesman and local medics said.
The spokesman accused Israel of mounting an air strike thatdestroyed a house and vowed revenge for the death of AymanFayed, better know as Abu Abdallah.
However, an Israeli military spokeswoman said she was awareof no such action.
Israeli ministers said this month they may step up effortsto kill senior Gaza militant leaders. Israeli forces havecarried out a number of air strikes on Gaza militants in carslately, but not since 2006 have they bombed a house.
"We will respond to this Zionist massacre painfully," AbuAhmed, a spokesman for Islamic Jihad's armed wing said.
"We will strike the enemy everywhere."
Among the wounded was Fayed's wife, he added.
Medics said at least 40 people had been wounded in theexplosion at the al-Bureij refugee camp.
The Gaza Strip is ruled by Islamist Hamas, which seized thecoastal enclave in June from Palestinian President MahmoudAbbas's secular Fatah. Islamic Jihad operates in a loosealliance in Gaza with Hamas.
(Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi; Writing by AlastairMacdonald; editing by Sami Aboudi)
