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Hamas says Israel responsible for growing violence in Gaza

Xinhua, May 27, 2015 Adjust font size:

Islamic Hamas movement on Wednesday held Israel responsible for the fresh escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip, after Israeli war crafts struck the enclave at predawn.

Sami Abu Zuhri, Hamas spokesman in Gaza, said in an emailed press statement that "Israeli occupation is held responsible for the current escalation in the Gaza Strip overnight and on Wednesday morning."

"Hamas warns of exaggerating in these stupid actions," said Abu Zuhri, in response to launching six Israeli airstrikes on militants' training facilities all over the Gaza Strip.

The intensive Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip were a response to firing four rockets from Gaza into Israel on Tuesday night.

However, leaders of Islamic Hamas movement and the Islamic Jihad (Holy War) in the Gaza Strip denied earlier on Tuesday night that their militants had fired any rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel.

Ismail Radwan, a senior Hamas leader in Gaza, told Xinhua that his movement is not aware of firing any rockets from Gaza into southern Israel, adding "the Palestinian factions are committed to the ceasefire agreement."

Meanwhile, Khader Habib, a senior Islamic Jihad leader in Gaza, said that his movement is not responsible for firing any rockets from into Israel.

"I affirm that the Islamic Jihad Movement hasn't fired any rocket from Gaza into our occupied Palestinian territories," said Habib, adding "the Israeli media reports are baseless and untrue."

Habib added that "Israel is using such excuses and lies to prepare for launching a new aggression on the Gaza Strip."

Meanwhile, Hamas rejected on Wednesday an Amnesty International Report which blamed Hamas movement for committing crimes against Palestinian civilians during last summer's Israeli war on Gaza.

The movement said in an emailed press statement that the report of Amnesty "is suspected and lacks professional criteria," adding "the report depends of alleged claims that are rootless and untrue."

The report accused Hamas that "it killed 23 Palestinian civilians during the war on Gaza without trial, while wounding, detaining and torturing dozens only for political differences."

Hamas said that the movement has no link to the actions mentioned in the report and that the interior ministry is investigating these actions, adding "once the results are ready, it will be immediately announced." Endit