Gaza court sentences 3 to death over commander’s death

By Nour Abo Eisha

GAZA CITY, Palestine

A military court in the Gaza Strip has sentenced three people to death over the killing of a Hamas commander, according to a Palestinian judge.

The three were accused of involvement in the murder Mazen Fuqaha, the commander of Hamas’s armed wing, the Ezzeddin al-Qassam Brigades, in southern Gaza Strip in March.

Hamas, which rules the blockaded Gaza Strip, has blamed Israel for the killing.

Speaking at a press conference in western Gaza on Sunday, Naser Suleiman, the head of Gaza’s military judiciary, said the trio had been sentenced to death on charges of murder and spying for Israel.

Sunday’s verdicts are final and cannot be appealed.

Last week, Hamas-run security forces detained 45 alleged spies in connection with Fuqaha’s death.