Israeli soldiers block the road during a Palestinian demonstration to protest the Israeli campaign against Hamas Islamists, at the Hawara checkpoint near the West Bank city of Nablus May 26, 2007. Israel pounded Hamas positions in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, killing at least five fighters, and seized a Palestinian cabinet minister.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    GAZA, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Israel escalated on Saturday its air attacks on Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and the Interior Ministry executive force that it controls, leaving five people killed and some 16 wounded.

    In the day-long time, Israeli aircraft carried out seven consecutive air strikes on different posts and compounds belong to Hamas movement, leaving five people killed and more than ten wounded.

    A fresh Israeli air strike had targeted at night a post belongs to Hamas' armed wing al-Qassam Brigades in the town of Rafah in southern Gaza Strip, said Palestinian security sources, adding no injuries had been reported.

    Shortly before the last air strike, two more air strikes were carried out against two posts belong to the Hamas controlled Interior Ministry executive force in Gaza City, leaving ten civilians wounded, said medics at local Sheffa Hospital.

    They added that among the casualties, a pregnant woman and a 15-year-old boy were in critical conditions.

    Four air strikes were carried out earlier in the day. The most serious one was when Israeli aircraft struck on a Hamas executive force in Zeitoon neighborhood in southern Gaza, leaving five people killed and six wounded.

    No injuries were reported in the other three airstrikes, said security sources.

    The escalating air strikes came in retaliation against continuo militants' rocket attacks on Israel.

    Israel had decided to intensify its strikes on Hamas movement on May 18, accusing the movement for continuing rockets attacks on southern Israel which does not respect a ceasefire agreement reached between moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

    Hamas armed wing claimed responsibility on Saturday for launching three homemade rockets from northern Gaza Strip at coastal Israeli town of Ashkelon and at the town of Sderout in southern Israel.

    Israel Radio reported that one of Hamas rockets hit an empty Israeli house in Sderout, without injuries.

    In response to rockets fire from the Gaza Strip on Israeli border towns, Israeli army has also conducted large-scale arrest operations against senior members of Hamas in the West Bank recently.

    Early on Saturday, Israeli troops arrested Palestinian minister of state Wasfi Kabha in his house in the northern West Bank city of Jenin during an overnight raid.

    On Thursday, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) also detained 33 Hamas officials including the education minister, four mayors and municipality heads as well as three lawmakers.

    Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haneya of Hamas denounced Saturday the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip and the West Bankas "a real war".

    "It's a real war to frustrate our people, extort them and force them to accept orders from outside," Haneya said in a statement sent to reporters by his office, adding "however, this aggression will not bear fruit and it will draw dangerous subsequence."

    His remarks came not long after five members of Hamas' Executive Force were killed in a series of air strikes on their bases in Gaza Strip on Saturday, which are part of an ongoing offensive that killed more than 40 people since mid-May.

    Apparently, the tit-for-tat conflict has worsen the violent situation in the Palestinian territories.

    Earlier on Saturday, Hamas has warned Israel against harming Haneya after helicopters targeted a post for his bodyguards twice in 24 hours.

    Meanwhile, Hamas' military wing renewed threats to abduct more Israeli soldiers and to renew suicide attacks inside the Jewish state.