Gaza City  An Israeli aircraft Thursday afternoon killed Said Siam, the minister of the interior in the Hamas administration in the Gaza Strip, the al-Quds radio station of the radical Islamic Jihad movement announced.

Siam's brother was also killed in the strike on his brother's house, as was the head of Hamas' security apparatus, Salah Abu Shreh.

Siam, one of the top Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip, is the most senior figure in the Islamist movement to be killed since Israel launched Operation Cast Lead against Hamas on December 27.

He is considered one of the guiding force behind Hamas' violent takeover of the Gaza Strip in June 2007, when gunmen from the movement routed security personnel loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and seized control of security installations in the salient. (dpa)