Qassam Fires Rocket At Israel's Ben Gurion Airport

The Ezzeddin al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Palestinian resistance faction Hamas, has said that it fired a home-made rocket at Israel's Ben Gurion airport on Friday.



In a statement, the Brigades said its fighters had fired an M75 rocket at the airport, which is located some 15km southeast of Tel Aviv.



On Wednesday, a Hamas spokesman warned international airline carriers to halt all flights to the airport as of Thursday to avoid being struck by incoming rockets.



Violence flared up again this week following the collapse of Egypt-hosted indirect talks aimed at reaching a permanent ceasefire deal, with Israel accusing Palestinian resistance factions of violating a temporary truce with a rocket barrage.



The claim was denied by Hamas, however, which in turn accused Israel of attempting to derail the ceasefire talks in Cairo.



Since hostilities began on July 7, at least 2089 Palestinians have been killed – the vast majority of them civilians – and more than 10,000 injured by Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip.



According to Israeli figures, at least 67 Israelis have been killed over the same period: 64 soldiers in ground operations inside the Gaza Strip and three civilians by Palestinian rocket fire.



Since 2007, the Gaza Strip has reeled under a crippling Israeli blockade that has taken an enormous toll on the coastal territory's economy and played havoc with residents' livelihoods.



By Mustafa Haboosh



englishnews@aa.com.tr



www.aa.com.tr/en - Gazze