Two Katyusha Rockets Hit Ashdod Area, Gaza Militants' Furthest Target Yet

Haaretz
December 29, 2008

http://www.jewishpolicycenter.org/546/two-katyusha-rockets-hit-ashdod-area-gaza

Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired a barrage of at least 40 rockets at the western Negev on Sunday, as the Israel Air Force continued to pound the coastal territory for a second day.

Two Katyusha rockets, with a diameter of 122 mm, exploded near the northern Negev city of Ashdod. More than 30 kilometers from Gaza, this was the deepest into Israel a Palestinian rocket has yet to strike.

The rockets, which are the most improved versions of the Palestinian missiles, have a range of up to 40 kilometers. The particular rockets that struck on Sunday traveled 37 and 35 kilometers.

At least three more rockets exploded earlier in Ashkelon, leaving one woman with light shrapnel wounds.

Another four rockets struck the Eshkol region of the western Negev. There was no word of casualties in any of the incidents.

The strikes came as hundreds of Israel Defense Forces infantry and armored corps troops headed for the Gaza Strip border early Sunday in preparation for a possible ground invasion, military officials said.

The Israel Air Force attack on Gaza had killed at least 271 Palestinian militants by Sunday morning, and Israeli officials said the military had no plans to cease its operations.

The offensive, "Operation Cast Lead," was launched late Saturday morning in response to unceasing Palestinian rocket fire on southern Israel over the course of a six-month truce between Israel and the Gaza Strip.

A total of 110 rockets and mortar shells were fired at the western Negev on Saturday, including a Katyusha rocket which exploded 27 kilometers from the Gaza border.

Netivot resident Bebert Vakhnin was killed and six other Israelis were wounded in the strikes.

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