Militant and political group Hamas said Saturday that one of its members was assassinated in Malaysia, a day after Israeli intelligence minister Yisrael Katz warned the Gaza Strip rulers that Israel would mount targeted killings should the group threaten Israeli commanders.
Hamas said 35-year-old Fadi al-Batash was killed at dawn in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur on his way to a mosque for prayers. Hamas officials didn’t disclose Mr. al-Batash’s role in the Islamist movement or how he was assassinated but said he was a researcher in “the field of energy.”
Tensions between Israel and Hamas have surged in recent weeks. Palestinians began protesting last month at the fence separating Gaza from Israeli territory, calling for the right of refugees to return to what is now Israel. The protests led to clashes with the Israeli army.
The violence has left 37 dead from Israeli gunfire and 4,500 injured, including four killed Friday, Palestinian authorities have said.
The clashes between the Israeli army and Palestinians coupled with the dire state of the Gazan economy have raised international concerns of another round of major fighting between Hamas and Israel.
Hamas didn’t explicitly blame Israel for Saturday’s killing. But Mr. al-Batash’s family accused Israel’s foreign intelligence service, Mossad, of the assassination and called on the Malaysian authorities to help bring the Palestinian’s body home for burial in Gaza.
Hamas has accused Israel of assassinating its members multiple times over the militant group’s decade in power in Gaza.
In the most high-profile case, Palestinians blamed Mossad for killing Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in January 2010 in a Dubai hotel. That assassination caused a diplomatic furor, as some Western nations expelled Israeli diplomats over the use of dozens of forged passports.
Israel denied any involvement in that assassination.
Kuala Lumpur City Police Chief Mazlan Lazim confirmed the death of a 35-year-old Palestinian man and said his team had begun an investigation into the incident.
The police head didn’t identify the victim, only describing him as an imam at a mosque and lecturer at a local private university. Two helmeted men on a motorcycle fired 10 shots at the victim, including four found on his body, Mr. Mazlan said.
A spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to whom Mossad reports, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday on whether Israel was involved in the killing.
Mr. Katz on Friday said Israel would assassinate Hamas officials should the group or other militants in Gaza threaten Israeli commanders working on the strip’s border with Israel.
Islamic Jihad, another Palestinian militant group, on Thursday released a video showing Israeli soldiers on the Gaza border fence and warning “our snipers’ sights are on your top commanders.” Among those shown was Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai the most senior Israeli soldier coordinating civilian matters with the Palestinians.
“Hamas must know that any attack on [Israeli army] commanders at the border to Gaza will immediately lead to a renewal of targeted killings of the Hamas leadership,” Mr. Katz, who is also transportation minister, tweeted in response to the Islamic Jihad video.
His spokesman on Saturday clarified the minister’s comments, saying he was referring to killings only in Gaza.
Israeli commanders have been at the fence at different times, coordinating operations and briefing the media. Israel’s military has responded to international criticism by saying it must use gunfire to prevent a breach of the fence by angry protesters.
Israel says Hamas, which it and the U.S. consider a terrorist organization, is using the demonstrations as a pretext to attack Israeli soldiers.
Gazans are calling for the right to return to their ancestors’ villages and towns, a demand Israelis reject because they say it would put the country’s Jewish majority at risk.
—Yantoultra Ngui in Kuala Lumpur contributed to this article.
Write to Rory Jones at rory.jones@wsj.com
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