Mustafa Sarsur, who was in his 60s, died overnight in a hospital in Egypt where he had been receiving treatment for the injuries he sustained in the March 22 air strike in Gaza City, sources at Gaza's Al-Shifa hospital told AFP. Sarsur had initially been treated at the Shifa hospital.

Sarsur was an old friend of the wheelchair-bound cleric and known as a member of his Islamist movement.

Yassin and seven other Palestinians were killed instantly in the air strike outside a mosque in Gaza City just after morning prayers.

The latest death brought the overall toll since the September 2000 start of the Palestinian uprising to 3,904, including 2,937 Palestinians and 898 Israelis, according to an AFP count.

WAR.WIRE