IAF strikes school, Internal Ministry building in Gaza
IAF strikes school, Internal Ministry building in Gaza
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Yaakov Katz, Herb Keinon and jpost.com staff, THE JERUSALEM POST Jul. 4, 2006
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The IAF struck back at Palestinian terrorists late Tuesday night when it fired missiles at the Hamas-run Internal Ministry in the southern Gaza Strip and a school in the northern part.
By day it's a school, an IDF spokesman said, and by night it's a meeting place for terrorists.
The strike against the Internal Ministry was the second time the building was targeted in the past week. Rescue workers said five people were wounded.
The attacks came after a Kassam rocket traversed a record range of 12 kilometers and landed Tuesday night for the first time in the heart of Ashkelon, sending the city's 120,000 residents into a state of fear that their city would be bombarded by rockets like Sderot has since the disengagement last summer.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert termed the Kassam attack a "grave escalation" for which Hamas is responsible and for which there will be far-reaching ramifications.
Olmert's comments came at the annual July 4th celebration held at the residency of the US ambassador to Israel in Herzliya Pituach.
"Tonight a grave escalation took place when a Kassam landed in a school in our southern town. This is a peerless and grave escalation in the terrorist war for which Hamas, which is in control of the Palestinian government, is responsible," Olmert said.
He said there will be significant ramifications for this "criminal attempt" to strike at Israeli citizens. He said Hamas would be the first to be hit.
In response to the attack, Defense Minister Amir Peretz ordered the IDF to step up the speed and intensity of Operation Summer Rains in the Gaza Strip, launched last Wednesday in an effort to retrieve Cpl. Gilad Shalit. "We intend to achieve the goals of our operations in Gaza," Peretz said, referring to stopping the Kassam rocket fire as well as retrieving the kidnapped IDF soldier.
No one was wounded by the rocket, which landed in a playground of a school in the heart of the Ashkelon residential area. Children playing soccer outside the ORT-Ronson High School on Rehov Ben Zvi were thrown back by the force of the explosion, witnesses reported, but were unharmed. The school suffered some damage. Earlier in the day, four rockets landed in the western Negev without causing any injuries.
Security officials described the Kassam as "upgraded," although featuring only one engine. Southern Police chief Cmdr. Uri Bar-Lev said security forces had seen this type of rocket in the past and called on the residents of Ashkelon to remain calm and to carry on their lives as usual.
Hamas' military wing, Izzadin al-Kassam, claimed responsibility for the attack while claiming that the rocket had been upgraded to achieve a range of over 15 kilometers. Security officials said the rocket was fired from an open area between the former northern Gaza settlements of Nisanit and Dugit.
In the past, Kassams have landed in Ashkelon's periphery, particularly in the industrial zone. But in contrast to Sderot, Ashkelon is not equipped with the Red Dawn early warning system which alerts residents of an incoming rocket.
Spokeswoman for Ashkelon Municipality said that Mayor Roni Mahetzri was encouraging residents to go about their daily lives and vowed that terrorism would not win.
Meanwhile Tuesday, the IDF stepped up its offensive on the Gaza Strip despite the expiration of an ultimatum issued by the kidnappers of Shalit, abducted from his military outpost outside southern Gaza last Sunday. On Monday, several tank squads, bulldozers and infantry companies took up positions in northern Gaza opposite Beit Hanoun. On Tuesday, additional forces were sent into Gaza establishing a battalion-level presence in northern Gaza.
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Yaakov Katz, Herb Keinon and jpost.com staff, THE JERUSALEM POST Jul. 4, 2006
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The IAF struck back at Palestinian terrorists late Tuesday night when it fired missiles at the Hamas-run Internal Ministry in the southern Gaza Strip and a school in the northern part.
By day it's a school, an IDF spokesman said, and by night it's a meeting place for terrorists.
The strike against the Internal Ministry was the second time the building was targeted in the past week. Rescue workers said five people were wounded.
The attacks came after a Kassam rocket traversed a record range of 12 kilometers and landed Tuesday night for the first time in the heart of Ashkelon, sending the city's 120,000 residents into a state of fear that their city would be bombarded by rockets like Sderot has since the disengagement last summer.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert termed the Kassam attack a "grave escalation" for which Hamas is responsible and for which there will be far-reaching ramifications.
Olmert's comments came at the annual July 4th celebration held at the residency of the US ambassador to Israel in Herzliya Pituach.
"Tonight a grave escalation took place when a Kassam landed in a school in our southern town. This is a peerless and grave escalation in the terrorist war for which Hamas, which is in control of the Palestinian government, is responsible," Olmert said.
He said there will be significant ramifications for this "criminal attempt" to strike at Israeli citizens. He said Hamas would be the first to be hit.
In response to the attack, Defense Minister Amir Peretz ordered the IDF to step up the speed and intensity of Operation Summer Rains in the Gaza Strip, launched last Wednesday in an effort to retrieve Cpl. Gilad Shalit. "We intend to achieve the goals of our operations in Gaza," Peretz said, referring to stopping the Kassam rocket fire as well as retrieving the kidnapped IDF soldier.
No one was wounded by the rocket, which landed in a playground of a school in the heart of the Ashkelon residential area. Children playing soccer outside the ORT-Ronson High School on Rehov Ben Zvi were thrown back by the force of the explosion, witnesses reported, but were unharmed. The school suffered some damage. Earlier in the day, four rockets landed in the western Negev without causing any injuries.
Security officials described the Kassam as "upgraded," although featuring only one engine. Southern Police chief Cmdr. Uri Bar-Lev said security forces had seen this type of rocket in the past and called on the residents of Ashkelon to remain calm and to carry on their lives as usual.
Hamas' military wing, Izzadin al-Kassam, claimed responsibility for the attack while claiming that the rocket had been upgraded to achieve a range of over 15 kilometers. Security officials said the rocket was fired from an open area between the former northern Gaza settlements of Nisanit and Dugit.
In the past, Kassams have landed in Ashkelon's periphery, particularly in the industrial zone. But in contrast to Sderot, Ashkelon is not equipped with the Red Dawn early warning system which alerts residents of an incoming rocket.
Spokeswoman for Ashkelon Municipality said that Mayor Roni Mahetzri was encouraging residents to go about their daily lives and vowed that terrorism would not win.
Meanwhile Tuesday, the IDF stepped up its offensive on the Gaza Strip despite the expiration of an ultimatum issued by the kidnappers of Shalit, abducted from his military outpost outside southern Gaza last Sunday. On Monday, several tank squads, bulldozers and infantry companies took up positions in northern Gaza opposite Beit Hanoun. On Tuesday, additional forces were sent into Gaza establishing a battalion-level presence in northern Gaza.
posted by shummer60 at Tuesday, July 04, 2006
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