Israel blamed for Gaza explosion
gaza city — Hamas is vowing revenge after blaming Israel for an explosion that killed six of its fighters.
The Islamic militant group, which rules Gaza, said on Sunday that Israel “will pay a heavy price” for the explosion the night before.
Gaza media initially reported the blast as a “work accident,” implying the militants were killed while producing or handling explosives.
But Hamas now says the militants, including two commanders, were killed “dismantling boobytrapped spying equipment planted by Israel during the past decade in Gaza.” It did not elaborate or provide any evidence.
A statement from the Palestinian Islamist group’s armed wing called the incident a “deplorable Zionist crime” perpetrated against its fighters.
“During a complicated security and intelligence operation conducted by Qassam Brigades to investigate a serious and a grave security incident conducted by the Zionist enemy against Palestinian resistance, a deplorable crime took place against our Mujahideen in the area of Zawayda in central Gaza Strip,” it said.
Israel’s military declined comment.
Hamas’ supreme leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was among thousands of Palestinians who attended the militants’ funerals.
Israel withdrew its troops and settlers from Gaza in 2005. But, citing security concerns, Israel maintains a naval blockade of the coastal territory, keeping tight restrictions on the movement of Palestinians and goods across the frontier.
Egypt, battling an Islamist insurgency in neighbouring Sinai, keeps its border with Gaza largely closed.
As Israel celebrates its 70th birthday, Palestinians mourn what they call the “Nakba” (Catastrophe) of their people’s mass dispossession during the conflict that broke out in 1948.
Meanwhile, Israel’s military said its forces shot and killed three Palestinians who breached the Gaza border and entered its territory as tensions there mounted on Sunday. Palestinian medic Izzat Shatat said that soldiers fired tank shells and machine guns. He said the Palestinians killed may have been “too close” to the fence but he was not sure if they had actually crossed into Israel.
The Gaza border has been the scene of violence over the past weeks. Hamas has been leading mass Palestinian protests there every
The Palestinians killed by Israeli soldiers may have been too close to the border fence but I am not sure if they had actually crossed into Israel
Izzat Shatat, Palestinian medic
Friday as part of a weeks-long campaign against a decade-old blockade of the territory.
Since protests began at the end of March there have been 43 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire along the border, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
Israel claims that it is defending its sovereign border, including nearby communities, and that its troops target only instigators. Israel accuses Hamas, which is sworn to Israel’s destruction, of trying to carry out attacks under the guise of the mass protests.
The military claimed soldiers on Sunday thwarted “an attempt to infiltrate into Israeli territory and sabotage security infrastructure.”
Also on Sunday, Hamas’ supreme leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was among thousands of Palestinians who attended funerals held for militants.
On May 14, the United States is to move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, whose Israeli-annexed eastern sector is sought for a Palestinian capital. The move is seen by Palestinians as a US breach of long-standing promises to help negotiate a fair arrangement for the contested city.
On the following day, Palestinians mark the “nakba,” or catastrophe, to commemorate the anniversary of their mass uprooting during the 1948 war over Israel’s creation.