Hamas official in Gaza dies three weeks after unexplained shooting

Imad Al Alami was unconscious since January 9 when he accidentally shot and critically injured himself, according to the group

Senior Hamas official Imad Al Alami is seen here on September 23, 1999, talking to journalists at a press conference in the southern suburbs of Beirut. The Palestinian movement said on Tuesday that heShow more

Hamas said on Tuesday that one of its senior officials had died, three weeks after accidentally shooting himself while cleaning his weapon in Gaza.

Spokesman Hazem Qassem said Imad Al Alami had been unconscious since the January 9 shooting.

Following the incident, Hamas hastily announced that Al Alami had died of natural causes but later said he had shot himself while checking a firearm at his Gaza City home and was critically injured.

The 62-year-old held several key posts as a member of Hamas' policy-making body and lived in Syria before returning to Gaza in 2012. He remained a prominent official although not a member of the politburo.

After Israel's 2014 war on Gaza, Al Alami travelled to Turkey for treatment for an injury in which he lost a leg. Hamas said he was wounded in the war.

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