Hamas declares war on Israel after bomb kills fighter

The Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas has vowed that it will step up its attacks on Israel, threatening that all Israelis have now become a target.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - From the Gaza strip, a defiant Hamas spokesman vowed that the group would continue to fire rockets into Israel after an Israeli air strike destroyed a house in Gaza, killing seven people.

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The spokesman, Sami Abu Zuhri, accused Israel of causing massacres among women and children in Gaza.

Referring to the strike against the house which belonged to a Hamas operative, Zuhri said: "The Khan Yunis massacre against women and children is an ugly war crime. All Israelis have now become legitimate targets."

Hussam Badran, a top figure in Hamas said that Israel would not be able to stop the rocket attacks.

"The occupation began this aggression and we have the right to defend ourselves," he said. "This is war against the whole Palestinian people."

Badran also criticized the Palestinian Authority leadership in the West Bank, claiming it had abandoned its people.

"This could be the last chance for the Palestinian Authority leadership to correct its stance and join the choice of the people, which is based on resistance. This is the time for unity at the battleground."

The Palestinian Authority did condemn so-called Israeli aggresion. "The Israeli decision to expand its aggression on the Gaza Strip and the policy of repression, harassment and settlement in the West Bank are tantamount to a declaration of an all-out war on our people," said Nabil Abu Rudaineh, spokesman for the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas.

"The Israeli government alone will bear the consequences of its aggression and subsequent reactions."

This follows a week of violence in the West Bank and Gaza, after three Israeli teenagers and a Palestinian teenager were kidnapped and murdered. Hamas and Israel have exchanged rocket and missile fire since these events in late June and early July.

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