Hamas denies involvement in rocket attack on Tel Aviv

The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has rejected Israel's claim that it launched a rocket which hit a house north of Tel Aviv and wounded seven settlers.

"No one from the resistance movements, including Hamas, has an interest in firing rockets from the Gaza Strip towards the enemy," a Hamas official, who asked not to be named, told AFP on Monday.

He added that the same message had been conveyed to Egypt, which intervened to broker a ceasefire and prevent Israel from launching another war on Gaza after tensions escalated last year.

His remarks evoked the possibility that the rocket strike may have been caused by "bad weather."

Earlier on Monday, Israeli authorities said a long-range rocket launched from the Gaza Strip had struck Mishmeret, a settlement north of Tel Aviv, wounding seven settlers.

Israel's military said the rocket was fired by Hamas from the Rafah area in the south of Gaza.

The incident had forced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cut short his trip to Washington as he pledged to "respond with force" to the rocket attack.

PressTV-Rocket hits near Tel Aviv after Israel attacks Gaza

A long-range rocket launched from the Gaza Strip strikes north of Tel Aviv in the first such incident since 2014, forcing Prime Minister Netanyahu to cut short his trip to the US.

The Israeli military said it was sending two additional brigades and carrying out a limited call-up of reservists, raising fears of a severe military escalation.

The attack came a day after Israeli warplanes bombed the besieged enclave ahead of the anniversary of Gaza fence protests at the weekend.

Gaza has been under Israeli siege since June 2007, which has caused a decline in living standards. Israel has launched three major wars against the enclave since 2008, killing thousands of Gazans each time and shattering the impoverished territory’s already poor infrastructure.

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