Hamas says one of its senior officials has died, three weeks after accidentally shooting himself while cleaning his weapon in the Gaza Strip.
Spokesman Hazem Qassem said on Tuesday that Imad al-Alami had been unconscious since the Jan. 9 shooting.
Hamas initially hastily announced that al-Alami, 62, had died naturally but later said he had shot himself while checking his weapon at his Gaza City home and was in critical condition.
Al-Alami held several key posts as a member of Hamas' policymaking body and lived in Syria before returning to Gaza in 2012. He remained a prominent official, though not a member of the current political bureau.
After the 2014 Israel-Hamas conflict in which he lost a leg, he traveled to Turkey for treatment. Hamas said he had been wounded during the operation.
