Ezzeldein al Qassam Brigades, armed wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), continued shelling Qassam rockets on Israeli targets on Saturday morning.

The brigades said in a leaflet that its militants launched at predawn Saturday several homemade Qassam rockets and mortars on the southern Israeli town of Sderot and several Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip.

The leaflet said the attacks were in revenge for Israeli army operations in the West Bank city of Tulkarm and the latest airstrikes in Gaza.

Meanwhile, Israeli Radio reported that one of the rockets hit a house in Sderot, causing severe damage to the building, but no casualties were reported.

Two other rockets hit Israel's western Negev early Saturday morning, said the radio, adding that no severe damage or casualties were caused except that several residents were treated for shock.

Hamas, sworn to Israel's destruction and the biggest Palestinian Islamic militant group, has stepped up rocket attacks on Israeli targets for the past week.

Six Hamas members were shot dead by Israeli troops on Friday in fierce clashes in the West Bank as Israel renewed raids into the Palestinian territories and targeted killings.

The new violence further strained tension between the Palestinians and Israel, jeopardizing a de facto truce the two sides declared in February.

Source: Xinhua