Palestinian gunners continued to fire Qassam rockets at the Israeli town of Sderot on Friday evening, one of which hit a house and left three people suffering from shock. The eight rockets fired in the barrage, three of which hit Sderot, brought the total number of home-made rockets launched at Israeli settlements Friday to 30.
In earlier attacks Friday, four Sderot residents were treated for shock and a warehouse was damaged. Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Resistance Committees claimed responsibility for the fire.
Hamas said Friday it would not be deterred by Israel's cutback of the power supply to the Gaza Strip. "The Zionist enemy must understand that the policy of assassinations, of attacks, of embargo, of cutting electricity and fuel will not halt the resistance and will not break the back of the Palestinians," said a senior Hamas official, Ismail Radwan. "We warn them of a large volcano that will erupt if their aggression increases."
Meanwhile, Egypt boosted security along its border with Gaza Strip Friday after Hamas allegedly threatened to kidnap Egyptian soldiers if Hamas activists arrested in Sinai are not released, a security official said. The official, according to the AP, said Hamas warned it would abduct security personnel if Egypt does not free 15 members of the Islamic group arrested last week in the Sinai peninsula.
Snipers were deployed Friday on rooftops on the Egyptian side of Rafah. Egyptian forces were told to move only in armed groups of at least three soldiers, the security official said.
On his part, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri denied any kidnapping threats against Egyptian troops and reiterated that Hamas was fighting the Israelis, not the Egyptians. "This is a lie," Abu Zuhri told The Associated Press in Gaza. "It's not true at all. People are spreading these rumors to incite against Hamas."
