Palestinian Resistance Groups Retaliating?

Hamas and Islamic Jihad claim responsibility for projectiles that killed one Israeli woman in Sderot, injured others

November 15, 2006

Gaza - Ma'an - An Israeli woman, 57, died in hospital on Wednesday morning from wounds she sustained after a Palestinian projectile landed in her home in the southern Israeli town of Sderot, Israeli security sources have confirmed. The armed wings of Hamas and Islamic Jihad have claimed responsibility for the projectiles.

Israeli sources said that many Israelis were injured in the town when a number of homemade projectiles landed in Sderot and the Western Negev early Wednesday. One of the wounded Israelis is suffering from serious injuries, Israeli sources said.

Israeli media is also reporting that a bodyguard of the Israeli minister of defence, Amir Peretz, who comes froom Sderot, was also injured. It is reported that he has had to have a leg amputated.

Many projectiles launched by Palestinian fighters in the Gaza Strip landed in the town centre and some landed in the outskirts on Wednesday morning.

The Al Quds Brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad, and the Al Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, have announced that they are responsible for the launching of many homemade projectiles at Sderot on Wednesday.

The Al Quds Brigades spokesman, Abu Hamza, told Ma'an that his Brigades launched two projectiles at 8.05 on Wednesday.

The Al Qassam Brigades issued a statement in which they said that they were responsible for the launching of two projectiles at the same town, Sderot, at 7.30 am on Wednesday. They also said they fired another four during the night.

Both Brigades said that the shelling of the town is part of the retaliation for the Israeli attacks against Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The An-Nasser Salah Addin Brigades, the military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), also announced their responsibility for launching a homemade projectile at Sderot on Tuesday evening.

The Brigades said in a statement that their continuous launching operations towards Israeli targets are in response to the Israeli massacres and bombardments in Gaza.

The Israeli town of Sderot lies close to the northeast corner of the Gaza Strip and is a frequent target for projectile-launchers in the Gaza Strip.

The projectiles that the Palestinian armed men fire from the northern Gaza Strip are crude, homemade rockets with limited capability or aim. They rarely cause injuries or damage, mostly landing in open areas.

According to Israeli army sources, it is believed that the projectiles were launched from an area near Beit Hanoun in the north of the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli defense minister, Amir Peretz, has threatened the projectile-launchers with fierce retaliation.