Gaza rocket kills Thai worker in southern Israel

A rocket launched Thursday from the Gaza Strip killed a Thai farmworker in southern Israel, the first such fatality in the area in more than a year.

The blast occurred in a clump of greenhouses in the farming community of Netiv Haasara, just north of Gaza. The name of the 30-year-old victim was not immediately released.

Rocket and mortar fire into southern Israel from Gaza, which once occurred daily, has been dramatically reduced since the Israelis’ 22-day assault on the coastal strip at the end of 2008 and early last year. But in recent days, the number of attacks has increased, including five in a 48-hour period, military officials said.

A little-known Islamic militant group called Ansar al Sunna claimed responsibility for Thursday’s attack, saying in a statement that it was retaliating for the “Judaization of holy sites” in Jerusalem. Later a second group, Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, also claimed responsibility.

Israeli officials accused Palestinians of exploiting recent tensions in Jerusalem over the reopening of a synagogue in the Old City and Israeli plans for more Jewish housing in traditionally Arab East Jerusalem, a move that has precipitated a diplomatic clash with the U.S. . They said they would hold the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which controls the seaside enclave, responsible for the death of the farmworker.

Israel vowed to retaliate. Two months ago, Israel’s military responded to a sudden increase in the number of rocket attacks by launching airstrikes against targets in Gaza.

The victim of Thursday’s attack was one of the thousands of foreign workers in Israel doing menial and agriculture jobs. Many are performing work previously done by Palestinian laborers who no longer can get permission to enter Israel.

Sobelman is a news assistant in The Times’ Jerusalem Bureau.