Sami Abu Zuhri, spokesman of Palestinian ruling Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), announced on Sunday that the earlier armed attack on an Israeli army post southeast of the Gaza Strip is "a natural reaction to the Israeli occupation crimes".

"This attack is a response to the Israeli daily crimes committed against the Palestinian people and against killing children and pregnant women in the past two weeks in the Gaza Strip," Abu Zuhri said.

It was also a response to the killing of seven members of one family by Israeli shelling on the beach of northern Gaza Strip, he added.

Three armed Palestinian groups, namely People's Resistance Committees (PRC), the Islamic Army and Hamas armed wing Izz el- Deen al-Qassam Brigades, jointly carried out the attack on an Israeli army post southeast of the Gaza Strip town of Rafah earlier Sunday, during which at least three Palestinian militants were killed.

Spokesman of al-Qassam Brigades Abu Oeida said that at least ten militants from the three militant groups infiltrated into the Israeli army post and clashes with Israeli soldiers.

He said that there are many Israeli soldiers had been either killed or wounded, but he declined to comment on reports saying that militants had also taken away a body of a Israeli soldier.

Source: Xinhua