Palestinians in Gaza are to hold a "state funeral" for a murdered Italian activist, Hamas said on Sunday, adding it was close to arresting all those involved in his death. Hamas foreign affairs and planning minister Mohammed Awad told reporters that slain activist Vittorio Arrigoni's body would be moved to Egypt via the Rafah border crossing on Monday after a funeral in Gaza.
"We're waiting for his friends and relatives to arrive in Gaza. Some are already here but there are others we are waiting for, and then there will be a state funeral," Awad said.
"We expect afterwards that his body will be taken to the Rafah crossing and then on to Cairo, according to the wishes of his family."
Arrigoni was found hanged in an abandoned house in the north of the Gaza Strip on Friday morning, hours after he was kidnapped by a fringe, radical Salafist group.
Security forces of the Islamic movement Hamas which rules Gaza have arrested four people in connection with his murder, but Awad said some suspects remained at large in the coastal strip.