Report: Zahar injured during Gaza op

Kuwaiti daily quotes source as saying senior Hamas leader was evacuated to Egypt for medical treatment.

mahmoud zahar 248.88 (photo credit: AP)
mahmoud zahar 248.88
(photo credit: AP)
A Palestinian source was quoted on Sunday as saying that senior Hamas official Mahmoud Zahar was injured during the final days of Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip. A Kuwaiti daily quoted the source as saying that Zahar was evacuated by ambulance to an Egyptian hospital for medical treatment. The Jerusalem Post could not confirm the report. The paper also reported that Zahar was taken to Cairo before a medical team could reach the area of the Strip in which he was injured. No further details were given about either the severity of his injury or his current condition. During the three-week-long operation in Gaza, the IDF tried to locate senior Hamas officials, including Zahar, and assassinate them. Three of Zahar's bodyguards were killed by an IAF strike near his house in Gaza City. Throughout the operation, the IDF succeeded in assassinating two political leaders of the organization, Sheikh Nizar Rayyan and Said Siam. The Kuwaiti paper also reported that Hamas executed one of Siam's bodyguards because he had tipped Israel as to the whereabouts of his boss. Yaakov Katz contributed to this report.