PA: Shrapnel in Jabalya blast from Hamas rockets

Associated Press
Jerusalem Post - Sept. 27, 2005

Shrapnel found in the bodies of people killed in a blast at a Hamas rally last week came from the group's own homemade rockets, according to a forensic report published Tuesday by the Palestinian Authority.

The report by the Interior Ministry's explosive unit said the shrapnel resembled that used in the noses of Hamas' Kassam rockets.

The blast at the rally in the crowded Jabalya refugee camp Friday killed 21 people, including a 7-year-old boy who died of his wounds Tuesday.

Hamas said Israeli aircraft had fired missiles into the crowd, which Israel denied. The Palestinian Authority said the blast was caused when Hamas members mishandled explosives during the celebration of Israel's withdrawal from Gaza. The blast was centered on a pickup truck carrying masked Islamic activists and homemade rockets.

Following the explosion, Hamas operatives fired nearly 40 rockets into southern Israel, injuring six people and touching off an Israeli wide-ranging Israeli offensive, marked by airstrikes and massive arrest raids.