Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haneya said on Saturday that the Israeli offensive into Gaza Strip and West Bank was a real war.

"It's a real war to frustrate our people, extort them and force them to accept orders from outside," Haneya said in a statement sent by his office.

"However, this aggression will not bear fruit and it will draw dangerous subsequence," Haneya added.

His remarks came not long after five members of Hamas' Executive Force were killed in a series of air strikes on their bases in Gaza Strip on Saturday.

The attacks are part of an ongoing offensive that killed more than 40 people since mid-May.

Following the incident, Ezz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades of Hamas fired a barrage of rockets into southern Israel communities.

In a statement faxed to the media, the brigades explained that the number of the rockets to be fired today was four.

Earlier on the day, Hamas has warned Israel against harming Haneya after helicopters targeted a post for his bodyguards twice in 24 hours.

Meanwhile, Hamas' military wing renewed threats to abduct more Israeli soldiers and to renew suicide attacks inside the Jewish state.

Abu Obaida, Hamas' military spokesman, added that the captured Israel soldier Gilad Shalit will not be released if the army killed senior Hamas officials.

"Resuming martyrdom operations inside the occupied Palestinian territories is a matter of time," Abu Obaida added in a written statement distributed to the press.

Source: Xinhua