Tientallen raketten uit Gaza op Ashkelon, Be'er Sheva en Ashdod

 

Inmiddels leven bijna een miljoen Israeli's binnen 'rocket range' en kunnen elk moment een alarm verwachten waarna zij 15 seconden hebben om een schuilkelder te bereiken. Hamas heeft de afgelopen 6 maanden duidelijk niet stil gezeten: voor het staakt-het-vuren kon men met moeite de buitenwijken van Ashkelon raken, dat minder dan 20 km van de Gazastrook ligt. Nu komt men ruim 40 km ver. Deze raketten zijn echter geen eigen fabrikaat, maar binnen gesmokkeld via de tunnels en over land toen de grens vorig jaar in januari 10 dagen open was.

 

RP

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Last update - 19:02 01/01/2009       
Barrage of Gaza rockets strikes Ashkelon, Be'er Sheva, Ashdod
By Haaretz Service
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1051858.html

 

 

Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired a barrage of more than 40 rockets at southern Israel on Thursday, one of which scored a direct hit on an eight-floor residential building in the northern Negev city of Ashdod, nearly 40 kilometers from the Hamas-ruled coastal territory.

 

More than 40 Grad and Qassam rockets were fired at the Negev on Thursday, after a relatively quiet night.

 

The strike on the Ashdod apartment house caused a fire to erupt in the building and seriously damaged the top floor. Rescue workers evacuated all residents, fearing that the building would collapse. The incident ended without physical injuries and the damaged structure still intact.

 

A number of people were treated for shock, however, many of them children and elderly people.

 

The Israel Defense Forces announced just after the strike that an Israeli aircraft had bombed the Gaza-based squad responsible for firing the rocket.

 

Four Grad rockets exploded a few minutes after the Ashdod strike in the city of Ashkelon and about two more struck the city a few hours later. No casualties were reported in any of those incidents.

 

Three rockets struck the western Negev town of Sderot early Thursday afternoon. There were no reports of casualties in those strikes.

 

Another barrage was fired at Ashdod and Ashkelon in the middle of the afternoon, and another eight rockets exploded in near Be'er Sheva toward evening.

 

Six Qassam rockets exploded in the Eshkol region over the course of the morning, and two Grad rockets hit the city of Be'er Sheva. There were no casualties reported in any of the incidents, but some area buildings sustained damage.

 

Three rockets hit Be'er Sheva late Wednesday, just hours after Defense Minister Ehud Barak issued a statement extending the 'special situation' status on the home front to all communities within 40 kilometers of the Gaza border.

 

Be'er Sheva and Yavne, previously thought to be beyond the range of Palestinian rockets, are now among the cities included in the order.

 

A barrage of more than 70 Katyusha and Qassam rockets hit the western Negev on Wednesday, with several rockets exploding in Ashkelon and Be'er Sheva.

 

The defense minister reiterated his appeal to all residents "to strictly follow Home Front Command instructions."

 

Barak's order allows the Defense Ministry, through the Home Front Command, to issue binding regulations for the civilian population in the specified area. The decision is valid for 48 hours, and must then be ratified by the government.

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