Israeli Hurt As Grad-Type Rockets Hit Ashkelon

by Yuval Azoulay, Haaretz Correspondent and The Associated Press
Haaretz
June 16, 2008

http://www.jewishpolicycenter.org/214/israeli-hurt-as-grad-type-rockets-hit-ashkelon

A Grad-type rocket fired from the Gaza Strip on Monday struck an Ashkelon cemetery leaving one person lightly to moderately wounded. Another rocket exploded inside the city.

The victim suffered shrapnel wounds to his neck. Several other people suffered from shock and were treated by emergency medical staff at the scene.

Gaza's Hamas rulers took responsibility for the strike. In the past, Israel has charged that Iran has supplied Hamas with Grads, smuggled into Gaza under the border with Egypt.

The attack came as Egypt pressed ahead with efforts to arrange a truce to stop the daily Palestinian rocket barrages and Israel's reprisal attacks, but Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev said the Hamas goal is to deliberately target innocent civilians.

"It appears today's attack is a deliberate attempt to undermine the Egypt initiative to achieve calm," the spokesman said.

Later, Israeli forces killed a Palestinian in an attack on a rocket squad in Gaza, Palestinian hospital officials said. The Israel Defense Forces confirmed the strike.

Earlier Monday, IDF troops killed three Palestinian gunmen near the Gaza-Israel border, close to the coastal strip's southern town of Khan Yunis.

The fighting also included an air strike in which three Hamas militants were injured, one critically, Hamas said.

Apparently referring to the dead militants, Islamic Jihad on Monday said three of its members were missing after an exchange of fire with IDF troops in the Gaza Strip.

The Palestinian militant group said the gunmen planted a land mine along a fence with Israel in southern Gaza.

The three gunmen were armed with rifles, wore combat vests and were in possession of explosive devices which they were apparently attempting to plant by the fence in a bid to blow up IDF soldiers patrolling the security fence.

The IDF troops, of the Givati infantry brigade, identified the three men then charged them and subsequently killed them.

The incident came as Israel was awaiting Egypt's answer to the remaining questions regarding the temporary cease-fire with Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip.

During the gunbattle there was an explosion, which the IDF believes to have been caused by one of the two devises carried by the gunmen, detonated by the soldiers' fire.

None of the IDF soldiers were wounded in the fighting.

Related Topics:  Palestinian Rockets  |  Yuval Azoulay  |  Haaretz Correspondent  |  The Associated Press receive the latest by email: subscribe to the free jewish policy center mailing list