Al-Jazeera.net- -
Four members of Hamas's armed section have been killed by an Israeli missile fired on their car as they went to pray in the Gaza Strip.



The air strike in Gaza city early on Friday morning is part of Israel's biggest offensive in Gaza for months in which hundreds of Palestinians have died.

Hamas sources said a vehicle carrying four men belonging to an elite unit was struck by the missile. The men had stopped near a mosque to pray when their vehicle was hit, witnesses said.

An Israeli military source confirmed an aerial attack on a vehicle.

Imad Mushtaha, a Hamas military leader who had survived previous assassination attempts, was among the dead.

Five people were also wounded in the attack, a medical official said.

A fifth Palestinian was killed by Israeli gunfire in Beit Hanoun on Friday morning.