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Palestinian rockets hit 40 km from Tel Aviv

12 March 2012 18:39 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired a Grad rocket that hit the northernmost point so far in four days of barrages, slamming into a building in Gedera, some 40 kilometers south of Tel Aviv, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

Ten people, including an 80-year-old woman, were injured when another of the projectiles hit coastal Ashdod. Another 38 Grad and Kassam rockets hit areas including Beersheba, according to Israel Radio.

Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon, which has also been heavily targeted, on Monday moved several departments, including maternity and pediatric wards, to underground bomb shelters.

The army’s Iron Dome anti-missile system succeeded in downing the majority of the rockets that were aimed at populated areas, while allowing others to fall on open areas.

Israeli Air Force strikes on launching crews and weapons manufacturing and storage areas killed two Islamic Jihad militants and a 15-year-old Palestinian, wounding 38 others, according to the Haaretz daily.

Another strike on Monday in northern Gaza killed a 65-year-old man and his 30-year-old daughter, according to Palestinian sources.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman said the two were in a residential area near where the rocket was fired from.

"After the firing of the rocket two people were seen approaching the launch site, while Israel Air Force (IAF) aircraft targeted the suspects, hitting the specific point where the rocket was launched from," according to the army.

The army said in a statement that the "incident was a blatant example of how terror organizations use human shields to carry out terror attacks from the heart of urban areas and as occurred in this incident lead to the apparent injury of uninvolved persons."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that " The IDF is continuing to strongly and decisively attack the terrorists in the Gaza Strip," adding that "Whoever intends to harm our citizens, we will strike at him."

He called the army’s "crushing offensive capabilities... important defensive measures and the resilience of the citizens in the south" a triad that allowed Israel to "accurately and painfully strike at terrorism."

Netanyahu praised 30 southern council heads that he met with on Sunday, and warned that "The IDF is ready to expand its operations and continue them as necessary."

Palestinians have since Friday fired more than 150 rockets at civilian targets, according to Israel’s Foreign Ministry.

On Monday, Israel’s Home Front Command Chief Maj.-Gen. Eyal Eisenberg said at a briefing that he expects the violence to continue several more days, according to the Ynet news site.

"We have the necessary endurance, and it all depends on what the other side does," he said. "Everyone must understand that if the south doesn’t resume normal life neither will Gaza," Eisenberg said.