- Title: VARIOUS: Rocket hits synagogue in southern Israel, another explosion in Gaza
- Date: 19th May 2007
- Summary: (W5) SDEROT, ISRAEL (MAY 17, 2007) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF HOUSE AND VIEW FROM DISTANCE AS ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER EHUD OLMERT WALKS FROM HOUSE TOWARD VEHICLES MOTORCADE CARRYING ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER EHUD OLMERT DRIVING FROM AREA
- Embargoed: 3rd June 2007 13:00
- Keywords:
- Topics: International Relations
- Reuters ID: LVAB63TOQQ4RSMN3QD5GMEJCMWFE
- Story Text: A rocket has hit a synagogue in Sderot in southern Israel soon after Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert visited the town. And a further explosion rocked downtown Gaza City.
At least three rockets fired by militants in Gaza hit the southern Israeli town of Sderot just after midnight Friday morning (May 18). One of the rockets hit a synagogue. Several people, including an infant and other children were taken away in ambulances, but no serious injuries were reported.
The attack came soon after Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert visited Sderot to tour damage from rocket attacks over the past few days.
Earlier an explosion rocked downtown Gaza City killing one and injuring two others. It was not immediately clear what caused the explosion.
Israel had launched air strikes in Gaza on Thursday (May 17) against a Hamas security force, killing at least four people and plunging Palestinians deeper into turmoil after six days of fierce internal fighting verging on civil war.
Israeli troops with tanks also entered the Gaza Strip, the coastal enclave from which Israel withdrew in 2005. A spokesman called it a "small force" on a "defensive operation", leaving it unclear whether Israel was shifting its policy of leaving all but the areas closest to the border to Palestinian forces.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert vowed to stand firm on his visit to the border town of Sderot hit by dozens of rockets in recent days and U.S. President George W. Bush, calling for both sides to seek peace, said he understood Israeli fears of rocket strikes.
Israeli artillery was deployed along the Gaza border and residents said tanks were moving towards northern Gaza towns. Israeli forces recently completed training for a possible ground invasion of Gaza. The Israeli army broke into local radio broadcasts to warn northern Gaza residents not to approach Israeli forces operating in the area.
Despite a ceasefire deal brokered by Abbas and Hamas leader in exile Khaled Meshaal, four Palestinians -- including a woman and a young boy -- were killed in fighting between Hamas and Fatah on Thursday, raising the death toll in such internal conflict to at least 44 since Friday.
Israel said it launched the air strikes in response to cross-border rocket attacks. Hamas accused Israel of colluding with its rival Fatah in a battle for dominance in the territory, which Israeli soldiers and settlers quit two years ago.
Fatah brushed aside Hamas's charges, saying Palestinians must unite in the face of the Israeli onslaught.
"We have had enough. Israel will take all defensive measures to protect our citizens from these Hamas rockets," Miri Eisin, a spokeswoman for Olmert, said before the air strikes.
In response to the intense air assault, Hamas's armed wing threatened to resume suicide bombings in Israel. A Hamas bomber last struck in Israel in 2004.
After the Executive Force building was hit, an Israeli aircraft destroyed a car carrying a senior commander in Hamas's armed wing, seriously wounding him and killing another militant.
Another Hamas fighter was killed in an air strike at an Executive Force position outside the home of the Interior Ministry's spokesman.
In southern Gaza, an Israeli air strike targeting a rocket launching crew killed two teenage brothers whom hospital officials described as civilians.
The Israeli army denied its attacks were connected to the factional violence. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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