GAZA: A bomb exploded at the wedding of a relative of a former senior Fatah security official in the Gaza Strip, wounding more than 50 people, a hospital official said on Wednesday.

The explosion occurred late on Tuesday in the town of Khan Younis during the wedding of a cousin of Mohammed Dahlan, national security adviser for President Mahmoud Abbas until Hamas took power in the Gaza Strip in 2007.

Dahlan, reviled by Hamas supporters over crackdowns he led against the group when he was head of Fatah-dominated Preventive Security service in the Gaza Strip in the 1990s, moved to the West Bank after Fatah lost control of the territory.

He did not attend the wedding.

Muawya Hasanein, a hospital official, said 52 people were wounded in the blast.

Ihab al-Ghussein, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry in the Gaza Strip, said some 30 people were hurt, including the bridegroom, Mahmoud Dahlan.

In the West Bank, Mohammed Dahlan accused Hamas members of planting a bomb near the wedding stage. He said that after the explosion, they threw other explosives into the crowd and fired shots. Hamas denied any involvement.

A police spokesman said three people were arrested. He did not identify them.

A relative who took part in the celebration and asked not to be identified said the family believed that ‘hatred for Mohammed Dahlan’ was the motive for the attack.