Israeli hit by Hamas rocket; Israel kills 2 militants

By Corinne Heller

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Hamas militants in Gaza seriously
wounded an Israeli in a rocket attack and an Israeli helicopter
airstrike killed two Hamas militants in the northern Gaza Strip
as violence escalated on Sunday.

The Israeli was hit as he walked near a school in the town
of Sderot, close to the Gaza border, a hospital official said.

Hours later, an Israeli helicopter gunship fired a missile
at Hamas militants in the northern Gaza Strip, killing two and
wounding three, Palestinian medics said.

The Israeli military said it launched the strike after the
militants fired a rocket at Israel.

The killing of the Hamas militants was the first by Israel
since the ruling Islamist group ended a 16-month truce on
Friday after seven Palestinians were killed in a Gaza beach
attack that Hamas blamed on the Jewish state.

Since ending its truce, Hamas has fired around two dozen
rockets and several mortar rounds into Israel, mostly toward
the town of Sderot. The attacks have rarely caused injuries.

In response, Israel has fired artillery shells into Gaza,
the coastal strip it pulled out of last year after 38 years of
occupation, and carried out several airstrikes, killing at
least 12 Palestinians, including militants, Palestinian medics
say.

Palestinian militant groups frequently fire makeshift
rockets toward Israeli towns, but Hamas’s rockets are
considered more powerful and accurate than those of other
groups, hence the concern in Israel at Hamas ending its truce.

There has been a marked escalation in violence in the past
three days, with Hamas threatening a resumption of the type of
attacks it has spearheaded against Israel since an uprising
began in 2000, including suicide blasts and car bombings.

“We have decided to turn Sderot into a ghost town,” Hamas
said in a statement on Sunday. Hamas, which took over the
Palestinian government in March, is formally sworn to Israel’s
destruction and has said negotiations with Israel are
pointless.

The United States and European Union, which consider Hamas
to be a terrorist organization, have said that the group must
recognize Israel’s right to exist, cease attacks and abide by
existing peace agreements if it wants to be accepted.

REFERENDUM TENSION

The escalation of violence with Israel comes amid growing
tension and division within Palestinian politics too.

President Mahmoud Abbas, whose Fatah movement is a rival to
Hamas, has called for a referendum next month on a document
that implicitly recognizes Israel, a move rejected by Hamas.

Polls show, however, that a majority of Palestinians would
likely back the statehood document in the referendum scheduled
for July 26.

As well as the Israeli airstrike, another Palestinian
militant was killed on Sunday in a blast in a house in
Jabaliya, a refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, witnesses
said.

It was unclear what caused the explosion, which some
witnesses said was the result of an Israeli airstrike and
others said was a “work accident.” The man killed was a member
of the Islamic Jihad militant group. Israel denied involvement.

Sunday’s violence came as Israeli Prime Minister Ehud
Olmert was due to leave on a visit to Britain and France, where
he is expected to push for a continued strong European stance
against Hamas as well as discuss Iran’s nuclear program.

Olmert expressed condolences for the seven Palestinian
civilians killed in Friday’s beach blast and said the army
would investigate what happened. But he also said there would
be no let up against those launching rockets.