Israeli kill 8 of Hamas militant group
Hamas said the two bombers who attacked the southern Israeli town of Dimona came from the West Bank. On Monday, a different Palestinian militant group claimed responsibility and said the men had taken advantage of the breach of Gaza’s border breach to travel to Egypt and then sneak across the porous Egyptian border with Israel.
Hamas’s claim of responsibility raised the likelihood of even heavier fighting with Israel. Six of the militants were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a police station.
Hamas retaliated with a rocket barrage on the southern Israeli town of Sderot. The rockets hit a house and wounded one person, police said.
Abu Obeida, spokesman for Hamas’ military wing in Gaza, said the attackers managed to carry out the bombing despite Israel’s security control of the area and “bring a nightmare” to the southern Israeli town of Dimona.
The attack killed a 73-year-old Israeli woman, critically wounded her husband and injured 10 other people.
Israeli media said pictures of the alleged attackers released did not match the appearances of the two suicide bombers.
“Most likely... the terrorists did not come from the border with Egypt, but most likely they came from the area of Mount Hebron,” said Israeli Cabinet Minister Zeev Boim.
In Monday’s attack, one bomber blew himself up, but the second was injured in the blast, and police shot him dead before he could detonate his bomb.
Israel launched attacks on Gaza militants yesterday. Two Hamas militants were killed in clashes with Israeli troops in the southern Gaza Strip. Israeli aircraft later killed six people in an airstrike on a Hamas police station.
