Special report: Mideast peace conference    

    GAZA, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- Gaza-based Palestinian militants Thursday fired rounds of mortar shells and home-made rockets into q targets alongside the q.

    Hamas military wing, al-Qassam Brigades, claimed responsibility for firing 11 mortars at Israeli army vehicles which gathered behind the security fence to the east of Khan Younis in southern Gaza Strip.

    Meanwhile, the Popular Resistance Committee (PRC) said it had launched a home-made rocket into an Israeli settlement behind the border in eastern Gaza city.

    The PRC added that it had also shelled Israeli targets at Karni crossing, in eastern Gaza, with three mortars.

    The escalation came as Israel threatens to launch a large-scale offensive against the Hamas-run Gaza Strip in response to the continuation of the rocket firing.

    On Wednesday night, a Hamas militant was killed while planting a bomb near the border in eastern Gaza Strip. The death apparently resulted from misusing the explosive device.