JERUSALEM (AP) — Palestinian militants in Gaza fired more than 50 rockets into Israelon Saturday, the heaviest barrage in two years, Israeli officials said.
By Hatem Moussa, AP
A Hamas official was killed and four civilians were wounded when Israel hit back with tank fire and air strikes, said Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Adham Abu Salmia.
The violence comes amid increasing calls for reconciliation between Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his bitter rivals in Hamas. Abbas is seeking U.N. recognition for a Palestinian state by the fall and is currently lobbying for votes worldwide. But the internal rift makes their vision of statehood harder to achieve and hinders their ability to reach a peace agreement with Israel.
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman says he will file a complaint at the U.N. after Saturday's unusually large barrage of rockets.
Israeli Police spokesman Tamir Avtabi said Gaza militants fired 54 mortar shells at Israeli border communities within 15 minutes. He said two Israeli civilians were lightly injured by shrapnel and residents were advised to stay at home or in bomb shelters.
Hayim Yellin, head of the Eshkol region where the mortars exploded, said the mortars are of the same type as those intercepted on cargo ship last week loaded with weapons Israel said were sent by Iran to Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas acknowledged it launched some of the mortars — an unusual move as the Islamic militant group does not usually take responsibility for such attacks. Hamas fears triggering another Israeli invasion similar to a three-week operation aimed at stopping daily Palestinian shelling two years ago that killed about 1,400 Palestinians.
Israeli police said the mortar barrage Saturday was the heaviest since that round of fighting.
Israel holds Hamas responsible for all violence originating in Gaza, though Hamas usually blames smaller groups for rocket fire.
Hamas spokesman Ismail Radwan said the shelling was in response to recent Israeli airstrikes that killed militants. He warned Israel "not to test Hamas' response."
Hamas ousted Fatah from Gaza in bloody street battles in 2007. Since then, Hamas controls Gaza and the Western backed secular Fatah rules the West Bank.
Repeated efforts to reconcile the two rival governments have failed.
Abbas last week offered to go to the Gaza Strip for talks with his Hamas rivals but did not set a date.
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