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Tafiq Abu Naim, a Hamas military leader, survived an assassination attempt on Friday. Abu Naim suffered light injuries from a bomb that was placed under his car and detonated as he left a mosque in the Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip. He was taken to Shifa Hospital in Gaza but was discharged on Saturday. Hamas has begun an investigation into the incident.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh blamed Israel for the attack without citing any specific evidence. Israeli analysts believe the attack was carried out by ISIS or other Salafist Jihadi groups. Abu Naim is responsible for the arrest of many salafi-jihadist operatives in Gaza and a month ago his men captured Nour Issa, the leader of ISIS in the Gaza Strip, as well as other senior figures. The assassination attempt on Abu Naim is suspected by some observers to have been carried out in revenge for the arrest of Issa.

Elior Levy writes in Yediot Ahronot that “officials believe that the assassination attempt on Abu Naim may have been intended as revenge for the arrest of Issa”.

Israeli media reported yesterday that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency(UNRWA) discovered two weeks ago that Hamas had built a tunnel underneath one of its schools in Gaza. Israel was informed immediately about the discovery. UNRWA said in a statement that “the presence of the tunnel underneath an UNRWA facility, which enjoys inviolability under international law, is unacceptable and places the children and staff in danger”.

Following the discovery the school was closed and the tunnel sealed. This is the second time this year that a Hamas tunnel has been found under an UNRWA compound.