GAZA CITY, February 15 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – The Israeli occupation forces confirmed Saturday, February 15, that four soldiers were killed in the bombing of a tank in the Gaza Strip earlier in the day which was claimed by the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas.

According to Israeli army sources, the tank, a Magah-7 of fairly old design, was taking part in an incursion into the Beit Lahia town near the Jewish settlement of Dugit in the far north of the territory when it was targeted by a massive bomb.

The vehicle was completely destroyed in the attack, the sources said, confirming an account given by Hamas which said the whole crew had been killed.

Earlier Saturday, Hamas claimed responsibility for the roadside bomb attack on an Israeli tank in the Gaza Strip in which at least four of its crew were killed, reported Al-Jazeera.

In a statement, Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, said its fighters "carried out a big explosion on a Merkava tank which destroyed the tank and all the people inside."

"After the explosion, there was another blast inside the tank, which burned for an hour and completely destroyed it," the statement said, adding that a Hamas fighter had filmed the attack with a video camera.

Hamas said in the statement that it planted the explosives that hit the tank to avenge the deaths of two of her activists killed near Beit Lahia in a clash with Israeli occupation forces earlier this week.

"The Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades take responsibility for the 25-kg (55-pound) bomb that exploded under a Zionist tank this morning near Dugit. We confirm that our resistance and jihad (holy struggle) will continue," the Hamas statement said.

Interviewed by Al-Jazeera, Abdelaziz el-Rantisi, a leading Hamas figure, said the attack left six Israeli soldiers killed.

He vowed to teach Israeli Premier Ariel Sharon a lesson if he venture to occupy Gaza.

Palestinian witnesses said they heard a huge explosion and saw flames coming out of the tank after it drove over what appeared to be an explosive device near the northern village of Beit Lahiya, some 500 meters from the Jewish settlement of Dugit, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

An Israeli army spokeswoman declined to comment.

Israeli Troops Abduct Fatah Activist in Nablus

Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation army abducted a “wanted” member of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an armed offshoot of Fatah movement, Saturday, Palestinian security sources said.

Israeli troops swooped on Al-Aqsa activist Khalil Abu Haashi, 24, after surrounding a building in the center of Nablus, the sources said, without saying what he was accused of.