GAZA CITY
The Ezzeddin al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, announced late Sunday that its militants had clashed with Israeli special forces that had staged an incursion into central Gaza Strip.
"A group of our fighters clashed with Israeli troops near the eastern areas of the central Gaza Strip city of Deir el-Balah and forced them to retreat," the Brigades said in a statement.
Rocket hit Jericho 2 missile base
The group also stated that one of its rockets had hit the Israeli Sdot Micha base, believed to be a storage site for its Jericho 2 nuclear-tipped missiles.
Our rockets were fired at several targets in Ashdod area and its vicinity," the Brigades said in a statement.
"Our sources have confirmed that one of the rockets had scored a direct hit with the Sdot Micha base," it added.
According to the Brigades, Sdot Micha is home to missiles and missile batteries with nuclear warheads.
Sdot Micha, located near the town of Zekharyah, is believed to be the storage site of Israeli Jericho 2 nuclear-tipped missiles.
A unit of Israeli naval forces had attempted an incursion through the northern shores of the Gaza Strip on Saturday before being pushed back by Hamas fighters.
Israel has launched a military operation – dubbed Operation Protective Edge - with the stated goal of ending rocket fire from the Gaza Strip.
Since then, Israeli warplanes have staged hundreds of airstrikes on the besieged enclave – home to around 1.8 million Palestinians - while ground troops remain amassed on the borders in advance of a possible ground assault.
At least 172 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed in Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip since late Monday.
Some 1183 people have also been wounded in the Israeli aerial attacks.
Gaza-based resistance factions, for their part, have continued to fire hundreds of rockets into Israel, some of which have reached Tel Aviv, in response to the ongoing offensive.
No Israeli fatalities have been reported thus far.
By Mustafa Haboosh
www.aa.com.tr/en
