GAZA, Jan 14 (Reuters) - A Palestinian man who had been preparing an attack on Israeli targets was killed on Saturday in an explosion at the home of a militant leader in the Gaza Strip, his group said.

The explosion took place at the Rafah home of Zuhair Al-Qaissi, chief commander of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), an armed Palestinian faction that often operates independently of Gaza's Hamas rulers.

The PRC confirmed the man killed was a member of the group and that he was preparing an attack on Israelis when the blast occurred. Al-Qaissi himself was not hurt in the explosion.

Al-Qaissi's predecessor, Kamal al-Nairab was killed in an Israeli air strike in August. (Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi; Writing by Maayan Lubell)