This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Gaza City, Gaza Strip • A Hamas spokesman says the group's elusive military chief was not present during an Israeli strike on a Gaza Strip house that killed his wife and son.
Sami Abu Zuhri says Mohammed Deif "wasn't even in the location when they bombed it." Abu Zuhri was speaking to Hamas' TV station Al-Aqsa on Wednesday.
An Israeli strike on the three-story house late Tuesday killed Deif's wife and child, as well as three others.
Deif has escaped numerous Israeli assassination attempts in the past.
Israel has not commented on the strike.