Hamas founder and spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin was killed in an Israeli air raid in Gaza City on Monday.
Thousands of Gaza residents took to the streets as news of his death spread.
Hamas literally means Islamic Resistance Movement. It has primarily operated from the Gaza strip and its elements have used both political and violent means to pursue the goal of establishing a Palestinian state in place of Israel.
Yassin, who was in his late '60s and had been confined to a wheelchair since a childhood accident that paralysed him, founded the outfit in 1987.
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