Explosions rock Gaza banks

GAZA CITY - A series of explosions have targeted several Bank of Palestine offices across the Gaza Strip.

In central Gaza City, a bomb completely destroyed one ATM machine on Friday, while another sustained significant damage in the blast.

The explosions came after leaflets were distributed last week across Gaza and on social media warning Palestinians to remove their money from that specific bank.

The letters were signed by "Gaza staff members", a vague reference that could include Gaza's civil employees, most of whom have not been paid their salaries for several months.

Those responsible for the bombings remain unknown.

In a separate incident in Deir al-Balah, 15 kilometres from Gaza City, a group of fighters destroyed the surveillance camera at the local Bank of Palestine branch.

Iyad Al Bizm, spokesman for the Palestinian ministry of interior and national forces, said that security forces had opened an investigation into the bombings.

In a statement, Hamas called attacks on Bank of Palestine unjustified, and urged security forces to find those responsible.

The Palestinian Monetary Fund announced late Friday that it would shut down all banks in Gaza as a result of the bombings until further notice.

This was not the first time that banks have been targeted in Gaza. Last June, one week before the start of Israel's 51-day war on the besieged territory, several ATMs were shot at and destroyed.

In a separate incident on Friday, a group of fighters in pickup trucks entered the Palestinian Telecommunications Company, and confiscated some of the equipment. 

Meanwhile, an explosion struck the home of Ihab Bseso, spokesperson for the Palestinian consensus government.

While the interior ministry said the blast was the result of a faulty electricity generator, Bseso said he had received several threats, warning him that his house in Gaza City would be burned down.

The violence comes as Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are weathering intense thunderstorms and torrential rain.