**A senior Hamas military commander has died in Dubai, the Palestinian Islamist group has announced.**Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, 50, a founder of the Izz al-Din Qassam Brigades, passed away suddenly on 20 January, it added.
The exact circumstances of his death were not clear, but one Hamas official, Izzat al-Rishq, told Reuters that he had been assassinated by Israel.
An Israeli government spokesman would not comment when asked about the allegation by the Associated Press.
Earlier, Hamas said it was investigating Mr Mabhouh’s death. He had been living in Syria since 1989.
Mr Mabhouh was suspected of having participated in the abduction and killing in 1989 of two Israeli soldiers.
Mr Rishq said he had been assassinated a day after he arrived in Dubai, but that Hamas could not say more about how he was killed.