Hamas's armed wing declared an end to a five-month-old Gaza ceasefire yesterday by firing rockets into Israel, but the Palestinian government led by the Islamist group called for the truce to be restored.

Hamas' armed wing said it fired the rockets from the Gaza Strip in response to the killing of nine Palestinians at the weekend by Israeli forces.

There was no immediate Israeli government response, as the Jewish state celebrated its Independence Day.

"There is no calm between us and the (Israeli) occupation. The occupation ended the calm," Abu Ubaida, spokesman for Hamas' armed wing, the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, said after the group resumed rocket fire for the first time since the November truce took hold.

The Hamas movement, which leads the Palestinian government, also blamed Israel for the breakdown in the truce but stopped short of formally declaring it over.

The Hamas-led Palestinian government issued a statement calling for both sides to honor the ceasefire.

"The government reiterates its desire that the calm continue and be preserved in the way that achieves the national interests of the Palestinian people," government spokesman Ghazi Hamad said.

Observers say there has been a debate within the Hamas leadership over whether the group has to take a harder line towards Israel, but the Islamist group denies any divisions.

An Israeli army spokesman said at least five rockets were fired at Israel yesterday two of which landed near a southern Israeli town. There were no reports of casualties.

Israeli helicopter gunships opened fire near the border fence in southern Gaza in an attempt to stop the rocket fire, Palestinian witnesses said. An Israeli army spokesman said Israeli helicopters fired at rocket launchers in the southern Gaza Strip.

Hamas had largely abided by the ceasefire, but other groups continued to shoot makeshift rockets into Israel.

Source: China Daily/agencies