A Palestinian rocket fired from the Gaza Strip directly
struck a shopping mall in the southern Israeli coastal city of Ashkelon,
injuring at least 14 people, Israeli media reported.
A mother and her toddler daughter were among the injured and
in serious and moderate condition, first aid officials said. At least
two other people were also said to be hit by shrapnel, while a number of
Israelis were treated for shock.
The rocket penetrated the roof of the shopping mall on the
third floor, witnesses said.
The Grad-type Katyusha rocket was fired from the area of Beit Lahiya, in the
northern Gaza Strip, the Israeli military said.
The launch came after fighting between Israeli troops and local militants in
the southern and northern Gaza Strip left at least four Palestinians dead
Wednesday morning.
The witnesses said several Israeli army tanks and bulldozers, backed by
aircraft, rolled crossed over Israel's border with southern Gaza and approached
the village of Abbassan, east of Khan Younis. They were confronted by
intensive gunfire from local militants.
Israeli aircraft launched two strikes on the gunmen during the
fighting.
The Israeli military incursion came in response to earlier rocket attacks from
the Strip, with a military spokeswoman in Tel Aviv saying calling it a
"routine" operation against militants launching the missiles
The radical Islamic Hamas movement ruling Gaza, and the Islamic Jihad, an
Islamic opposition group, said their their militants launched homemade mortars,
detonated roadside bombs and hurled hand grenades at the Israeli army forces. Two
of their men were killed in the fighting in southern Gaza.
In the northern Strip, meanwhile, two militants were shot dead
and two more wounded in clashes north-east of Jabalia, as Israeli tanks and
bulldozers entered the area.
Initial reports said the Islamic Jihad claimed credit for launching the Grad
missile at Ashkelon. The group earlier said it would not abide by a
truce being mediated by Egypt.
"As a pillar of resistance in Palestine, the movement
will not again accept a free or unilateral lull in the occupied Palestinian
territories," Khaled al-Batsh, a senior leader based in Gaza, told
reporters.
"Israel wants to keep on its attacks and aggressions until the last moment
and the Islamic Jihad, in return, will continue its resistance," al-Batsh
added, dpa reported.
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