Hamas Thursday threatened to resume suicide bombings inside Israel after an Israeli air strike on one of its facilities killed at least one person and wounded more than 45. "This is an open war launched against Hamas. All options are open, including martyrdom operations," Abu Ubaida, a spokesman for the movement's armed wing, said.
All in all, at least four Hamas members were killed Thursday as Israel carried out a series of air strikes across the northern Gaza Strip.
In a second air strike, an Israeli helicopter fired missiles at car belonging to Hamas in Gaza City, killing two men. Hamas said one of the dead was Emad Shbana, a senior member of the military arm. Later Thursday, the Israeli army hit Gaza City for a third time, striking a Hamas position in the city and killing at least one man.
Thursday's air strikes followed warnings from Israel that it would respond to rocket attacks from Gaza Strip. Earlier, the Israeli army has deployed a number of tanks just inside the Palestinian territory.
Meanwhile, a truce between rival Palestinian factions appeared to take hold in Gaza Strip on Thursday after days of fierce fighting that has killed dozens.
According to AFP, sporadic gunfire rattled in Gaza streets where masked gunmen roamed and snipers patrolled rooftops, but there were no reports of deadly shootings.
President Mahmud Abbas of Fatah who was due to travel to Gaza on Thursday for talks with Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniya on ending the violence that has killed 44 people and wounded more than 100 since Sunday, has postponed his plans.
But within hours of the latest truce, two Fatah loyalists and three Hamas gunmen were killed in separate shootings.
Overnight, gunmen also opened fire on Haniya's home in Gaza, his office said. His bodyguards returned fire and the gunmen ran off. Nobody was hurt.
