Hamas blames Israel for Gaza blast that killed six gunmen: statement

GAZA (Reuters) - Hamas's armed wing blamed Israel for an explosion in the Gaza Strip on Saturday that killed six of the group's gunmen. A statement from the Palestinian Islamist group's armed wing called the incident a "deplorable Zionist crime" perpetrated against its fighters. "During a complicated security and intelligence operation conducted by Qassam Brigades to investigate a serious and a grave security incident conducted by the Zionist enemy against Palestinian resistance, a deplorable crime took place against our Mujahideen in the area of Zawayda in central Gaza Strip," it said. Hamas provided no further details. (Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi; Editing by Kevin Liffey)