Blast kills Islamic Jihad man in his home

An Islamic Jihad militant was killed in an explosion in his home in the northern Gaza Strip, hospital officials said. Palestinian firefighters said the blast originated inside the house in the town of Jebaliya, and was not the result of an attack. In the past, militants have died when explosives they were preparing went off prematurely. Islamic Jihad said the explosion was caused by Israeli aircraft. The Israeli army, which carried out an aerial strike minutes earlier against rocket-launchers elsewhere in northern Gaza, said it knew of no Israeli operation in Jebaliya. The dead man was identified as 24-year-old Ammar Shehab.