Middle East

Hamas militants claim responsibility for Sderot rocket attack

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-05-27 16:49

Ezz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, armed wing of Hamas movement, claimed on Sunday responsibility for the rocket attack that killed an Israeli man in southern Israeli town of Sderot this morning.

"Our fighters shelled Sderot settlement at 9:15 a.m. (0615 GMT) and after five minutes the Israeli media reported that a man was seriously wounded," the brigades said in a statement sent to the press.

Later, the Israeli newspaper of Haaretz reported two Sderot residents were wounded in the attack, one of them died of his wounds later.

Meanwhile, the Israeli army also confirmed the death of the 36- year-old man, saying he died a short while after he was rushed to hospital.

The statement also criticized Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah for describing the rocket attacks as idles while he tries to convince Gaza militant groups to halt firing rockets into Israel.

On Saturday, Hamas said it had launched 15 rockets and 20 mortar shells into Israeli communities near Gaza Strip while five of its members were killed in a series of Israeli air strikes.

According to the recent figures of the Health Ministry, the 11- day Israeli offensive has left 48 people dead in the Gaza Strip.

To revive the ceasefire with Israel again, the Palestinian factions demand Israel to stop offensive and the military operations in both Gaza and West Bank first.