Israeli forces moved further into northern Gaza early on Thursday morning after Palestinian militants succeeded in hitting the Israeli city of Askelon with rockets for the second night running.
Palestinian sources said gunmen tried to engage the tanks and armoured personnel carriers after they moved from border areas to positions close to settlements that were evacuated by Israel 10 months ago, and near the town of Beit Lahiya.
A spokesperson for the Israeli army said she had no immediate information about the advance into Gaza. Local hospitals reported no injuries, but crowds of gunmen roamed around northern towns in readiness for a deeper Israeli incursion. Seven Palestinians were injured when Israel fired missiles at a beach area in the north of Gaza on Wednesday night.
Earlier Israel’s security Cabinet approved the reoccupation of parts of the Gaza Strip after a Hamas rocket hit the grounds of a school in the centre of Askelon, causing no injuries. Officials told the Associated Press that the army would create a ”security zone” in northern Gaza.
The Israeli army has already moved into areas of the south and north of Gaza as part of its campaign to free Corporal Gilad Shalit, who was abducted on June 25.
Palestinian militants have improved the capability of their crude rockets in recent years. The town of Sderot has been a frequent target, but only a few rockets have reached the outskirts of Askelon.
Ehud Olmert, the Israeli Prime Minister, called the strike a ”major escalation” and vowed harsh retaliation, while his Cabinet colleague, Zeev Boim, said: ”As far as I’m concerned, the people of Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya [northern Gaza] can start packing.”
Israel’s reaction to Palestinian rocket fire from Gaza has been complicated by the need to ensure the safety of Shalit.
On Wednesday morning the Israeli airforce hit several targets around the Gaza Strip. In previous attacks it has used small missiles which damaged the target and little else. The missiles used on Wednesday were more powerful, damaging the target and buildings close by as well as risking civilian casualties. Missiles hit the interior ministry for the second time in a week, damaging a corner of the building, but injuring no one. The blast also damaged one side of an adjacent six-storey apartment, injuring five people. On the first floor windows were blown out, doors knocked down and apartments covered in dust and glass.
Abed Abu Marak (64) a doctor, said he was in his apartment with his wife, daughter and niece. ”I wasn’t quite asleep at around 1.30am. I heard a massive bang; when I opened my eyes it was like I was in a fog. There was no electricity but we all managed to get out without injury, but who knows what could have happened if we had been in the sitting room or kitchen at the time of the blast,” he said. He said his family would clean the house and repair the damage. The home of Abdel Halim Abed on the fourth floor, however, was gutted. The owner and his son were injured by shrapnel and relatives were removing their furniture and possessions.
The airforce also hit a school in a suburb of Gaza City, destroying the wall and sending scores of desks into the crater.
Elsewhere some of northern Gaza’s poorest residents took advantage of Israel’s invasion to loot an industrial zone. Palestinians climbed over walls to take plastic, metal, wood, concrete and anything they could find from deserted factories after local security forces were told by the Israelis to vacate the area around the Erez crossing and industrial zone while Israeli troops searched for tunnels. – Guardian Unlimited Â