JERUSALEM
Israel managed to kill a man who has been the brains behind the development of the rockets of the Gaza-based Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, an Israeli security source said Sunday.
The source told Israel Radio that the man had been killed during the ongoing offensive on the Gaza Strip.
The man was particularly specialized in the development of drones, according to the source.
He identified the slain Hamas expert as Ismail Mohamed Aqlouq. He said he was 65 years old.
Anadolu Agency could not obtain immediate comments from Hamas on these claims.
The movement said earlier that it managed to manufacture three different types of drones.
Israel had previously said that one Gaza drone fell in the southern city of Ashdod.
At least 1053 Palestinians have been killed – mostly civilians – and around 6000 others injured in Israel's ongoing offensive, which was launched on July 7 with the stated aim of staunching rocket fire from the embattled Gaza Strip.
Gaza-based resistance factions, meanwhile, fired rockets at Israeli cities in response to relentless Israeli bombardments.
Israel's military operation, dubbed operation "Protective Edge," is the self-proclaimed Jewish state's third major offensive against the densely-populate Gaza Strip – which is home to some 1.8 million Palestinians – within the last six years.
By Alaa Rimawi
www.aa.com.tr/en
