Hamas makes arrests over Gaza rockets — security source

GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories — Gaza rulers Hamas arrested two people over firing rockets at Israel last week, a security source in the Palestinian enclave told AFP.

Israeli forces said rockets were launched on Thursday from Gaza, the first such military action since three days of cross-border fighting in August.

The incident prompted Hamas' internal security services to detain two people "directly related to the firing of four rockets", said a security source who requested anonymity.

"The Palestinian factions have nothing to do with these rockets, which are aimed at giving the occupation [Israel] an excuse for continuing the aggression," the source told AFP.

The rocket fire was not claimed by any of the armed factions operating in Gaza, which has been ruled by the Hamas since 2007.

It came hours after veteran Israeli hawk Benjamin Netanyahu was declared the winner of November 1 elections, and after an Islamic Jihad fighter was killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank.

The conflict in August erupted when Israel fired on Islamic Jihad sites in Gaza.

The security source did not detail the affiliation of those arrested, adding that the rockets fired were not loaded with explosives.

Palestinian factions have an agreement to coordinate "any response to Israeli aggression", he told AFP.

Israel launched retaliatory strikes on Friday on Gaza, which the Israeli forces said hit a rocket production site belonging to Hamas.

Gaza's 2.3 million residents have been under a crippling Israeli-led blockade imposed since Hamas took power.

The Israeli forces and Gaza fighters have fought four wars over the past 15 years.