Senior Hamas official in critical condition after 'mysterious shooting'

Initial reports indicated that the official had died from natural causes, before being changed to wounded in an "accidental" shooting.

MENA

1 min read

The New Arab

09 January, 2018

Imad al-Alami was once Hamas' representative in Syria (First from the left) [Getty]

A senior Hamas official was hospitalised on Tuesday in critical condition with a gunshot wound to the head.

The Palestinian Islamist group described the incident as an "accident".

Fawzy Barhoum, the spokesperson for Hamas, said in a statement that Imad al-Alami, a former member of the party’s highest political body, was wounded while "inspecting his personal weapon in his home and is in critical condition."

A medical source told AFP that Alami had been rushed to a hospital in Gaza City.

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Initial reports by Hamas' official media had reported Alami had died of natural causes, before the statement released by Hamas describing the incident as an "accident". There was no independent confirmation of the incident.

The 62-year-old Alami is a senior figure in the Palestinian party, and was exiled in 1994 by Israel.

Alami spent the majority of his time in Syria before returning to Gaza in 2012 after the outbreak of the Syrian civil war.