Three family members die in Israeli air strike

An Israeli airstrike has killed three members of a Hamas leader's family in Gaza City today.

The home of a senior Hamas leader, Mahmoud Zahar was hit, witnesses said.

Zahar was hurt in the leg and taken to nearby Shifa Hospital.

Huge plumes of smoke were seen rising from the Rimal district of Gaza City, where Zahar lives.

The attack came a day after suicide bombers apparently dispatched by Hamas killed 15 Israelis in twin attacks at a bus stop crowded with soldiers and at a popular Jerusalem nightspot.

Hamas has stopped short of claiming responsibility for the bombings, but has threatened unprecedented revenge for Israel’s failed attempt over the weekend to kill several Hamas leaders, including founder Sheik Ahmed Yassin, in an air strike.

Witnesses said about 20 people were injured in the raid.

The bomb hit the Zahar home, sending huge plumes of smoke into the air. And several adjacent houses were damaged.

Palestinian police were struggling to control an angry crowd that gathered at the scene.