Hamas threatens to `strike deep` after six militants killed in Gaza

Source: Haaretz, 02-12-2007
A spokesman for the military wing of Hamas threatened Saturday to strike deep inside "Israel" in response to the deaths of six militants in two separate "Israel" Military Forces operations in the southern Gaza Strip.
Speaking at the funerals of the Hamas militants in Khan Yunis, Iz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades spokesman Abu Obaida said, "The enemy must be ready for black funerals. Al-Qassam Brigades will turn everything on the head of the Zionists ... and attack them unexpectedly."
Early Saturday, an "Israel" Air Force strike killed five Hamas members, prompting threats by Gaza militants to fire longer-range rockets at "Israeli" border towns.
Eight people were wounded, including one critically, in the strike near Khan Yunis, close to the border with "Israel", according to Moaiya Hassanain of Gaza`s Health Ministry.
Hamas said the dead were members of its military wing, while many of the injured belonged to the Popular Resistance Committees, a smaller militant group allied with Hamas. Hamas said the men were on a night patrol east of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza.
The "Israeli" Military said it carried out the strike after identifying armed men near the border with Gaza.
In a separate incident in central Gaza on Saturday, "Israeli" Military forces patrolling the border fence opened fire on a group of gunmen, killing one and wounding three, the army and Palestinian officials said.
The "Israeli" Military carries out regular operations in Gaza, targeting the militants who are launching near-daily rocket barrages into "Israel".
Abu Mujahed, a spokesman for the Popular Resistance Committees, said his brother was one of those killed in the air strike earlier Saturday. "This is a tax we pay for [creating] a homeland," he said of his loss.
Earlier, five mortar shells were fired by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip toward "Israeli" territory. All of the shells struck inside Gaza, near the fence on the border with "Israel".
Also on Friday, Palestinians opened fire on "Israel" Military Forces troops patrolling the Gaza border fence. No one was hurt in the shooting.
In the West Bank, damage to an "Israeli" car was caused near Nablus by a Molotov cocktail and stones thrown by Palestinian militants. No one was hurt in that incident, either.