Hamas denies firing rockets from Lebanon

Hamas denies firing rockets from Lebanon

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BEIRUT: The Palestinian group Hamas had no role in a rocket attack on Israel from Lebanon and had nothing to do with a statement in the name of its armed wing that claimed responsibility for the attack late on Saturday, Hamas officials in Lebanon said.
Three rockets fired from Lebanon hit open areas near Nahariya in northern Israel on Saturday evening. Israel responded with artillery fire. There were no casualties. The attack followed a similar rocket salvo from Lebanon on Friday.
Two Hamas officials in Lebanon said the group was not behind the rockets fired from Lebanon.
Asked about a claim of responsibility issued in the name of the Izz El-Deen Al-Qassam Brigades — the Hamas armed wing — Hamas official Osama Hamdan said: “We denied it and said Hamas had nothing to do with this statement.”
The claim of responsibility had been circulated in a text message received by journalists in Gaza, the way the Izz El-Deen Al-Qassam Brigades often makes such announcements.
A Lebanese security official said investigators had yet to determine who fired the rockets. The main Palestinian factions in Lebanon had told the investigators they were not involved in the attack, the official said.
The powerful Lebanese group Hezbollah praised Hamas and Islamic Jihad and said it backed the Palestinian “resistance in its goals and steps.”
Hezbollah said the Palestinians had realized “a balance of fear” that would pave the way to a “new era” in the struggle with Israel.