GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip: A powerful explosion ripped through a Hamas military compound in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, wounding more than a dozen people, including women and children, Hamas militants said. In a statement Hamas did not give a cause for the blast in the southern Gaza town of Rafah. The Israeli military said it wasn't involved, which suggests that the explosion was an accident. The blast shook through a densely crowded neighborhood in Rafah. Hamas said five children, three women and five other people were lightly wounded, all by flying glass shrapnel. The Gaza-based Palestinian Center for Human Rights has repeatedly called on the territory's Hamas rulers not to store explosive materials in civilian areas. It said a similar explosion in August wounded 58 people and destroyed seven houses. Israeli jets often target Hamas military installations and rocket launchers. Internal explosions are also common, with bombs and rockets going off prematurely. In the West Bank on Wednesday, Palestinians said Jewish settlers set fire to a girls school near the northern city of Nablus. The school was found vandalized with Hebrew graffiti on the wall reading “regards from the hills.” Jewish settlers live on hilly outposts nearby. The Israeli military said a complaint had been received from Palestinians and Israeli police were investigating.
