Middle East News

Hamas denies owning long-range rockets

Nov 4, 2009, 10:50 GMT

Gaza City - The Islamist Hamas movement denied Wednesday that it has test-fired a long-range rocket capable of striking deep into Israel, saying the claim, made by the head of Israeli military intelligence, was 'propaganda.' 'Such claims are untrue,' Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said in a statement sent to reporters. He added that Major-General Amos Yadlin's charge was aimed at disrupting a United Nations debate on a report highly critical of Israel's prosecution of its winter offensive in the Gaza Strip. The report accuses both Israel and Hamas of war crimes during the 22-day offensive, which Israel launched following a spate of rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip at its southern towns and villages. Major-General Yadlin told a parliamentary committee Tuesday that Hamas had recently rest-fired a rocket with a range of 60 kilometres, which could hit Tel Aviv. Although the majority of the thousands of rockets militant groups have fired at Israel since 2001 are makeshift projectiles with a highly-limited range, during the Gaza offensive the militia launched Russian-made Gard missiles which reached Beersheba, 40 kilometres form the Strip.

Middle East News

Hamas denies owning long-range rockets

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