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Smoke rises over Hamas rally after their homemade weapons exploded, witnesses said. (AP)
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After the explosion. (AP)
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| By israelinsider staff and partners September 23, 2005 |
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| Dead and wounded at the Hamas rally. Parading homemade weapons can be dangerous. (AP) |
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A pickup truck carrying masked militants blew up at a Hamas rally on Friday, killing at least 15 Palestinians and wounding 80, The PA Interior Ministry confirmed.
Witnesses said the truck carried homemade weapons, and Palestinian security officials said the blast apparently was caused by the mishandling of weapons. Hamas blamed Israel, saying Israeli aircraft flew overhead during the rally. Israel denied it was involved.
Seven of the wounded were in serious condition, hospital doctors said.
The rally was held in the Jebaliya refugee camp. Witnesses said participants crowded around the pickup truck carrying militants when the explosion went off. The witnesses said the truck carried homemade weapons.
One man, who only gave his first name, Hussam, said he helped pull three men out of the pickup, two dead and one man who was still alive, but had a leg severed. The side of the pickup was charred.
The witness said he saw five dead children nearby. Dozens of children were wounded in the blast. The Hamas military wing, Izzedine al Qassam, is popular with youngsters. When the pickup with the gunmen arrived at the rally, many children crowded around the vehicle.
After the blast, men carried bloody body parts and lifeless bodies wrapped in blankets to nearby cars.
The dead and wounded were taken to nearby hospitals. Doctors initally said they had a total of 56 wounded at two hospitals, but Hamas later revised the figure to 45 wounded. The toll was later revised upward again on Saturday, to 140.
At Shifa, doctors had to treat patients on the floor of the emergency room because they ran out of beds. Masked Hamas men wheeled in casualties, including children.
The AP contributed to this report.
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