Jerusalem:
A huge blast leveled the house of a Hamas commander in the Deir el-Balah refugee camp in southern Gaza early on Monday, wounding at least 32 people, according to Palestinian security officials. They said the blast was the result of an Israeli airstrike, but Israel's military denied that, saying there was no Israeli activity in the area.
The regional Hamas commander, Ala Adnaf, was missing along with another person, and rescue workers were digging through the rubble. The explosion badly damaged 12 nearby houses in the refugee camp, the officials said, speaking on customary condition of anonymity.
Adnaf was known as a bomb maker. Often there are accidental explosions in bomb factories. In the hours before this blast, Palestinian security officials said there were two other explosions elsewhere in Gaza, apparently caused by an intense heat wave detonating chemicals.
On Sunday Israel's prime minister issued a stern warning to Gaza's Hamas rulers after a weekend of rocket attacks from the Palestinian territory on Israeli communities. The attacks, including a rocket fired on Friday at an Israeli city six miles (10 kilometers) from Gaza, caused damage but no injuries. No Palestinian group took responsibility for the attacks.
Israel responded with a series of airstrikes on militant targets in Gaza, including one that killed a senior commander of the Hamas military wing early on Saturday. Years of rocket fire from Gaza has largely subsided since Israel launched a fierce offensive in the Palestinian territory in December 2008.
The three-week war dramatically reduced the number of rockets hitting Israel, but devastated the densely populated and impoverished Palestinian territory and drew international criticism. Most of the rocket fire since has been carried out by smaller militant groups that do not necessarily accept Hamas authority.
Hamas has largely refrained from launching attacks, apparently because of concerns about Israeli retaliation. The violence came shortly after the Arab League authorised Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to enter into direct peace talks with Israel, a notion that Gaza militants abhor.
The league endorsed the idea after President Barack Obama warned Abbas in a letter that US-Palestinian relations might suffer if the Palestinian leader refused to resume direct negotiations.
Negotiations between Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, and Netanyahu's predecessor, Ehud Olmert, broke off over the Gaza war. Indirect, US-mediated talks were launched in May. Abbas insists he will only negotiate if Israel commits to freezing all settlement construction.
Palestinians are wary of resuming talks with Netanyahu without agreeing first on an agenda, a timetable and a framework. Netanyahu has refused to be pinned down and make concessions ahead of talks. Netanyahu has put in place partial 10-month settlements freeze in the West Bank that is due to expire in late September.
A huge blast leveled the house of a Hamas commander in the Deir el-Balah refugee camp in southern Gaza early on Monday, wounding at least 32 people, according to Palestinian security officials. They said the blast was the result of an Israeli airstrike, but Israel's military denied that, saying there was no Israeli activity in the area.
The regional Hamas commander, Ala Adnaf, was missing along with another person, and rescue workers were digging through the rubble. The explosion badly damaged 12 nearby houses in the refugee camp, the officials said, speaking on customary condition of anonymity.
Adnaf was known as a bomb maker. Often there are accidental explosions in bomb factories. In the hours before this blast, Palestinian security officials said there were two other explosions elsewhere in Gaza, apparently caused by an intense heat wave detonating chemicals.
On Sunday Israel's prime minister issued a stern warning to Gaza's Hamas rulers after a weekend of rocket attacks from the Palestinian territory on Israeli communities. The attacks, including a rocket fired on Friday at an Israeli city six miles (10 kilometers) from Gaza, caused damage but no injuries. No Palestinian group took responsibility for the attacks.
Israel responded with a series of airstrikes on militant targets in Gaza, including one that killed a senior commander of the Hamas military wing early on Saturday. Years of rocket fire from Gaza has largely subsided since Israel launched a fierce offensive in the Palestinian territory in December 2008.
The three-week war dramatically reduced the number of rockets hitting Israel, but devastated the densely populated and impoverished Palestinian territory and drew international criticism. Most of the rocket fire since has been carried out by smaller militant groups that do not necessarily accept Hamas authority.
Hamas has largely refrained from launching attacks, apparently because of concerns about Israeli retaliation. The violence came shortly after the Arab League authorised Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to enter into direct peace talks with Israel, a notion that Gaza militants abhor.
The league endorsed the idea after President Barack Obama warned Abbas in a letter that US-Palestinian relations might suffer if the Palestinian leader refused to resume direct negotiations.
Negotiations between Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, and Netanyahu's predecessor, Ehud Olmert, broke off over the Gaza war. Indirect, US-mediated talks were launched in May. Abbas insists he will only negotiate if Israel commits to freezing all settlement construction.
Palestinians are wary of resuming talks with Netanyahu without agreeing first on an agenda, a timetable and a framework. Netanyahu has refused to be pinned down and make concessions ahead of talks. Netanyahu has put in place partial 10-month settlements freeze in the West Bank that is due to expire in late September.
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