Thousands of Palestinians attended a mass funeral on Thursday for a Hamas scientist who was gunned down in Malaysia last week, as a Hamas leader accused Israel of killing him and vowed revenge.
Fadi al-Batsh was laid to rest shortly after his body was returned to Gaza through the Egyptian border.
Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh led the funeral prayers at a mosque in Jabaliya, the town in northern Gaza where al-Batsh grew up.
"The hand that assassinated the scientist will be severed," he said, as the crowd responded with chants of "God is great."
Al-Batsh's body was brought to Gaza after crossing the Egyptian border via Saudi Arabia earlier on Thursday, after Malaysia and Egypt arranged the return.
Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman had urged Egypt to reject the request to help repatriate the body and put pressure on Hamas to return two captive Israeli civilians and the remains of two Israeli soldiers the terrorist group is holding.
Haniyeh thanked Malaysia and Egypt for allowing al-Batsh's repatriation "against the will of" Lieberman.
Al-Batsh, an electrical engineering lecturer in Malaysia, was killed last week by two assailants on a motorcycle as he was walking to a mosque in Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysia's deputy prime minister said the two suspects were believed to be linked to a foreign intelligence service.
Hamas identified him as a commander in its military wing and quickly accused Israel's Mossad spy agency of being behind the hit. Israeli media reported that al-Batsh was a key player in a military drone program being developed by Hamas.
Israel has a long history of assassinating terrorists, though it rarely acknowledges responsibility. But in a published interview on Thursday, Lieberman said Israel did not do it.
"We did not assassinate him," Lieberman told the Arabic news site Elaph. "Ask James Bond," he added. "Maybe James Bond killed him like in the movies."
Family members, Hamas leaders and other Palestinian dignitaries greeted the body, wrapped in a Palestinian flag, as it arrived at the Rafah border terminal.
"You are returning back to us … paving the way for our return to Palestine," senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya said at a small ceremony.
"To the occupation [Israel], we say the debt to us has become heavy. The day of punishment is coming."
Tensions between Israel and Hamas have heightened recently as the terrorist group has organized mass protests along the Israeli border.
Earlier on Thursday in Gaza, hundreds of Palestinians took part in the funeral of a Gaza journalist who died after allegedly being shot by Israeli troops while covering a protest on April 13.
Ahmed Abu Hussein, 24, died from his wounds on Wednesday at an Israeli hospital, where he had been transferred.
In a statement Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces said, "The circumstances regarding the injury of Ahmed Abu Hussein will be examined."
Israel says it is defending its border and accuses Hamas of using the demonstrations as cover to plan and carry out attacks.
Haniyeh also threatened that violent protests would spread to Judea and Samaria.
The family of the late Lt. Hadar Goldin, whose remains have been held by Hamas since he was killed in Operation Protective Edge in the summer of 2014, said in a statement Thursday that Egypt's decision to transfer al-Batsh's body to Gaza was a "resounding failure" for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lieberman.
"After nearly four years of our son being held captive by Hamas, we understood that the body of a terrorist and Hamas' interest in bringing him to burial in Gaza is an opportunity [that could] bring a resolution to the issue of IDF soldiers and Israeli civilians held by Hamas," the family said in a statement.
"After three days, it is clear the final result is a resounding failure. In a few hours, the terrorist's body will pass through the Rafah crossing, and his funeral will turn into a media circus that will have a psychological effect and show the Palestinians, the entire Arab world and the international community [Hamas military leader] Yahya Sinwar's victory over Benjamin Netanyahu: another victory for Hamas over the Israeli government and those who lead it in the diplomatic and security arena – Netanyahu and Lieberman."
