Photo: Haaretz

Gaza's Hamas rulers denied Tuesday Israeli claims that a rocket had been fired into southern Israel."No known party has claimed responsibility for firing the rocket and we are still following up on the matter," said Ihab Al- Ghussein, head of the Hamas government’s media office, but the Fahd El-Lil (Night Leopard) group issued a statement claiming responsibility for the attack. The group said it was an offshoot of Fatah’s Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade. The statement said the rocket was fired in response to the death of a Palestinian prisoner in an Israeli jail on Saturday. The rocket landed in the Israeli coastal city of Ashkelon. Israeli media reports said the rocket caused some damage on a road but did not hurt anybody. This was the first attack from the Gaza Strip into Israel since Hamas and Tel Aviv called a ceasefire following after a week of violence last November.