Jerusalem. An Israeli air strike on a house in Gaza has killed three senior Hamas military commanders, militants say. Mohammed Abu Shamala, Mohammed Barhoum and Raed al-Attar died in the attack near the southern town of Rafah. They were among at least 19 killed, a day after Hamas’s military chief Mohammed Deif reportedly survived a strike that killed his wife and child. An Israeli was severely injured as rockets were fired into Israel on Thursday, the army said. Hostilities resumed after peace talks collapsed on Tuesday. Israel has vowed to pursue its campaign until “full security” is achieved. Six weeks of fierce fighting have left at least 2,103 people dead, all but 67 of them Palestinians and most of them said to be civilians. Israel’s strike on Rafah demolished a four-storey building, killing at least three people in addition to the Hamas leaders. Local man Hamza Khalifa told AP news agency there had been no warning: “We only heard multiple F-16 [warplane] missiles, one after the other, six or seven missiles.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the “superior intelligence” of the domestic Shin Bet security service and the “precise execution” of the attack. The three commanders killed were key to operations including smuggling, tunnel construction and capturing the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in 2006, the BBC’s Yolande Knell reports
