GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip ? A top enforcer for Hamas in Gaza accused of spearheading rocket attacks against Israel was killed in an Israeli air strike late Thursday, an attack that threatened to escalate clashes between the two sides.

The anti-Israel Hamas government called the death of Jamal Abu Samhadana a direct assault on the Palestinian Authority, and vowed to continue its fight against the Jewish state. Abu Samhadana’s Popular Resistance Committees faction vowed revenge.

The Israeli military confirmed the strike against the PRC training camp in the southern Gaza town of Rafah, saying militants there were planning a large-scale attack on Israel. It would not confirm or deny that Abu Samhadana, the No. 2 man on Israel’s wanted list, had been the target.

He and other militants had been about to enter the training camp in the former Jewish settlement of Rafiah Yam when the missiles struck. Three other militants were killed and 10 were wounded in the attack, the Palestinians said.