Hamas deploys forces to prevent rocket fire on Israel

The interior ministry of the Hamas authority in the Gaza Strip said Tuesday it has deployed security forces on borders to deter rocket fire on Israel from the Palestinian enclave. "We will not allow anyone to break the truce. This force is meant to protect our internal bloc," said spokesman of the ministry, Islam Shahwan, in a press release. Israeli media outlets recently reported that Hamas had withdrawn the field force tasked with preventing rocket fire at Israel to protest the latest escalation and Israeli attacks on Gaza. Despite Hamas' steps to rein in rocket fire from Gaza, a projectile exploded Tuesday morning at a neighboring Israeli town. Israeli newspapers reported that a rocket hit Ashkoul town in southern Negev, but no injuries or damage were reported. No Palestinian factions have claimed responsibility for the attack. Meanwhile, Israeli army's spokesman Avichay Adraee told Xinhua that Israel holds Hamas responsible for all hostile actions emanating from Gaza. "The army will respond strongly to any rockets coming from Gaza. We will not let this continue," he said. The recent weeks have witnessed a military escalation between Gaza militants and Israel, raising doubts of a possible collapse of a shaky ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel brokered by Egypt in 2012. The truce agreement ended a week of tit-for-tat violence that killed 184 Palestinians and six Israelis.