GAZA CITY
Palestinian resistance group Hamas has claimed responsibility for blowing up a tunnel under an Israeli military site located south of the Gaza Strip.
In a Tuesday statement, the Ezzeddin al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' armed wing, said it had blown up a tunnel under the Karam Abu Salem military site on the southern border of the Gaza Strip.
No casualties were reported.
Israeli warplanes bombed the area following the explosion and residents were instructed to stay home in fear of possible attacks, according to Israeli Yediot Aharonot newspaper.
Earlier Tuesday, the Qassam Brigades said its fighters had managed to infiltrate the Zakim military base in southern Israel where they caused heavy losses among Israeli troops.
The Israeli army, for its part, said that four Palestinians had been killed in a failed infiltration attempt.
Violence raged in the Palestinian territories on Tuesday after Israel launched a major military offensive – dubbed "Operation Protective Edge" – with the stated aim of staunching rocket fire from Gaza.
At least 17 Palestinians were killed and scores injured in Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, while Palestinian resistance groups continued to fire rockets into Israel in response to ongoing Israeli airstrikes.
The latest escalations come amid heightened tension over the killing of three teenage Jewish settlers in the West Bank last month and the subsequent murder of a 16-year-old Palestinian boy by Jewish settlers.
By Mustafa Haboosh
www.aa.com.tr/en
