GAZA, May 10 (Xinhua) -- Ismail Haniyeh, politburo chief of Gaza-ruling Hamas, received phone calls from United Nations, Egypt, and Qatar on Wednesday mediating between the Palestinian enclave and Israel to end the flaring tension.
Taher Al-Nono, Haniyeh's media advisor, said in a press statement on Wednesday that Haniyeh held a phone conversation with UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland, and mediators in Egypt and Qatar.
During the phone calls, Haniyeh discussed with the mediators the ways to deal with the Israeli aggression against Gaza in the past two days, and "blamed the Israeli occupation for the escalation and repercussions of this aggression."
"During the contacts, the head of the movement affirmed the unity of the resistance, its position, and its permanent readiness to deal with any persistence of the occupation," the statement said.
Earlier in the day, Gaza militants fired a barrage of rockets into Israel as an apparent retaliation to two days of deadly Israeli airstrikes on Gaza.
The joint chamber of military operations, which comprises several Palestinian factions' armed wings, later claimed it launched hundreds of rockets on settlements and military targets, and even Tel Aviv, in response to the killing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) leaders by Israeli forces.
Israeli forces launched surprise aerial attacks on Tuesday predawn on Gaza, killing three senior PIJ members and more than 10 civilians.
Ashraf Al-Qedra, Gaza Ministry of Health spokesman, updated in a short press briefing that during two days of Israeli strikes, at least 20 Palestinians were killed, and more than 40 were injured. ■
