Sources: Israeli strike kills two, including boy
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The front of the car was mangled but the passenger area was largely intact.
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GAZA CITY (CNN) -- Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Aziz al-Shami and an 11-year-old boy were killed Saturday by an Israeli air strike, hospital officials in Gaza said.
Aziz al-Shami was a relative of and bodyguard for the local Islamic Jihad leader, Sheikh Abdullah al-Shami, and was believed to have been the target of the attack. Sheikh Abdullah al-Shami was not in the area at the time of the attack, Palestinian sources said.
An Israeli Apache helicopter fired one missile at about 10:30 a.m. (3:30 a.m. ET), striking a car carrying Aziz al-Shami and another Islamic Jihad bodyguard. The missile killed the 11-year-old bystander and wounded at least 10 others, witnesses said. Aziz al-Shami died from his wounds a few hours after the missile strike.
An Israel Defense Forces statement said its strike targeted "a senior Islamic Jihad terrorist responsible for the killings of IDF soldiers and who was currently, actively involved in planning more terror attacks." The IDF did not identify the target by name.
The other bodyguard's back was injured and he fled shortly after the attack. Aziz al-Shami was the target of an Israeli air strike last year, sources said.
Islamic Jihad's top operative Mohammed al-Hindi condemned the air strike, saying it was a message from Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to the Palestinian people to surrender. Al-Hindi also called for continued suicide attacks on Israeli targets.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad is a militant group dedicated to the creation of an Islamic Palestinian state and the destruction of Israel. There are different groups called Islamic Jihad in different Arab countries.
Video of the scene of Saturday's strike showed the front of the white hatchback car had been mangled, but the passenger area was largely intact.
An F-16 fighter jet also was spotted in the area around the time of the attack.
CNN's Talal Aburahma in Gaza City contributed to this report.
