Hamas leader slain in Israeli Gaza strike

GAZA, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- Israeli warplanes pounded the Gaza Strip early Saturday, striking 25 targets overnight and killing a senior Hamas militant leader, Palestinian sources say.

Despite a drop-off in rocket fire coming from Gaza, the air strikes continued, claiming as a victim a third senior Hamas leader. The home of Hamas commander Abu Zacharia Jamal was struck by a bomb and Jamal was slain early Saturday, a militant spokesman told The Jerusalem Post.

Meanwhile, Israel Radio reported that Hamas is claiming its members turned back an attempt by Israeli Army special forces to infiltrate Gaza, saying the agents were spotted near the Shajaiyeh neighborhood and that they retreated after they were targeted by six mortar shells.

But an Israel military spokesman denied the report, telling Army Radio that "this incident never happened," the Post reported.