Hamas shells Gaza settlement after girl killed

THE Islamic militant group Hamas said it launched five mortar bombs at a Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip yesterday after Israeli army gunfire killed a Palestinian girl.

Witnesses said the shelling damaged a home in Neve Dekalim settlement but there was no word of casualties.

The violence strained a de facto ceasefire brokered by new Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in a bid to prevent a chaotic power vacuum in Gaza when Israel quits the occupied territory this year.

Earlier yesterday, Israeli troops shot dead a 10-year-old girl in a schoolyard in the southern Gaza town of Rafah, witnesses said.

The army said it was not aware of its soldiers having been involved in any shooting and was investigating.

"As long as the enemy does not stop, then firing of mortar bombs will continue," said Abu Obeida, a spokesman for the Hamas military wing.

Hamas had vowed to attack Israeli troops and settlers when they withdraw under Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to "disengage" from more than four years of fighting with the Palestinians. But the Islamic group is also seeking political reconciliation with Mr Abbas's mainstream Palestinian Authority.