A leader of the Hamas militant group's military wing was killed in an explosion that rocked his home tonight in a Gaza Strip refugee camp, medics and witnesses said.
Witnesses spotted Israeli helicopters hovering over Bureij refugee camp shortly after the blast killed the militant, who was identified by Hamas officials as Abdel Naser Abu Shuka (36).
Meanwhile a Palestinian policeman was killed when gunfire erupted at a headquarters in Gaza City today in what the national police said was an assassination attempt by armed Palestinians against their chief.
But another security body gave a conflicting account of the incident, saying it has detained four people who had assaulted Major General Ghazi al-Jabali. Up to 11 of Jabali's officers were also wounded in the incident.
A statement issued by national police said: "A group of outlaws of the lowest level tried to assassinate the founder of the Palestinian national police, sent by some parties that do not want security and peace for the homeland."
The Palestinian Preventive Security service and an Interior Ministry official both denied anyone had tried to kill Jabali.
The Preventive Security agency said in a statement that an argument broke out between Jabali and four security men who had visited his office. The four assaulted Jabali and fled the scene but were detained by the Preventive Security service.
The statement gave no details on the reasons for the visit or what prompted the argument. But it said all those who were wounded in the incident were officers and bodyguards at Jabali's police complex.
One Palestinian policeman, Mr Mohammed Shahatu (22) died in hospital of injuries sustained in the shooting, medics said.
"It was an unfortunate episode," Interior Ministry official Mr Samir al-Mashharawi told reporters.
Disputes have sometimes broken out between members of more than a dozen Palestinian security forces but there have been no reports of fighting between them.
A US-backed "road map" to Israeli-Palestinian peace calls for unifying security powers under one command.