Four killed in Hamas rally blast

A large explosion went off at a Hamas rally in Jebaliya refugee camp today, killing at least four Palestinians and wounding 56, hospital officials said.

Seven of the wounded were in serious condition.

Witnesses pulled body parts out of a vehicle that appeared to have been destroyed by the blast.

A large plume of white smoke rose over the crowd.

After the blast, men carried bloody body parts and lifeless bodies wrapped in blankets to nearby cars.

The dead and wounded were taken to nearby hospitals.

The closest, in the Jebaliya refugee camp, said it received four dead and 25 wounded.

Thirty-one wounded were treated at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.

Some witnesses said they saw at least seven people killed.

At Shifa, doctors had to treat patients on the floor of the emergency room because they ran out of beds.

Masked Hamas men wheeled in casualties, including children.

An unmanned Israeli aircraft flew over the rally, but the Israeli military denied it was involved in the blast.

During the rally, Hamas paraded with home-made weapons and explosives.