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'Escalation of terror' slammed
04/07/2006 22:55 - (SA)
Jerusalem - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Tuesday denounced a Hamas rocket attack that struck an Israeli school but caused no casualties, calling it an escalation of "unprecedented gravity".
"This strike on the heart of Ashkelon is a very serious incident which constitutes an escalation of unprecedented gravity in the campaign of terror waged by Hamas, which leads the Palestinian Authority," Olmert said.
The armed wing of Hamas, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, claimed responsibility for firing the rocket, according to a statement received by AFP.
The rocket was launched in response to "Israeli aggression", the statement said, adding: "We will teach the occupation a lesson they will never forget." Damage 'significant'
The Qassam rocket "landed on a school in the centre of Ashkelon" south of Tel Aviv, an army spokesperson told AFP.
"At that hour of the day there were no children inside the school and no one was wounded, though the damage is significant," she added.
Until now no Qassam rockets had landed in central Ashkelon, the army said. The homemade devices are notoriously inaccurate and have a maximum range of about 12km.
Rockets fired previously at Ashkelon have tended to land in an industrial sector south of the centre.
A TV report cited anonymous Israeli officials as saying the development could impact the army's decision as to whether to further pursue a ground operation in northern Gaza.
- AFP
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