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Hamas says 3 of its senior military leaders killed in Israeli airstrike in Gaza

Associated Press
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Graphic tracks fighting and cease-fires in the latest Israel-Palestinians war. 2c x 5 inches; 2c x 5 inches; 96.3 mm x 127 mm; (The Associated Press)

Smoke, dust and debris rise after an Israeli strike hit Gaza City in the northern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2014. (AP Photo/Adel Hana) (The Associated Press)

The Islamic militant group Hamas says three of its senior military leaders have been killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas says in a text message sent to media that the three — Mohammed Abu Shamaleh, Mohammed Barhoum and Raed al-Attar — were killed in the Israeli airstrike near the southern town of Rafah early on Thursday.

They are considered to be in the senior levels of the Hamas military leadership.

Palestinian police and health officials say that six people were killed in the Rafah strike and that dozens of others remain trapped in the rubble of a four-story building targeted by Israel.