
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert pledged stiff retaliation for a rocket attack from Gaza on an Israeli city, the first time the weapons have reached the heart of a population centre, with Israel already stepping up its weeklong offensive in the seaside territory.
Olmert called the rocket fire on the coastal city of Ashkelon on Tuesday a 8216;8216;major escalation8217;8217;, coming just hours after a deadline set by the militants holding an Israeli soldier passed with Israel rejecting demands to release Palestinian prisoners.
Early on Wednesday, Israeli aircraft targeted the Palestinian Interior Ministry for the second time in a week, the Israeli military said. Witnesses said missiles hit the main structure again and damaged a building next to the ministry. Rescue workers said five people were wounded. The two top floors of the main building collapsed, and the second building, which provides housing for ministry employees, was set on fire, witnesses said.
In other attacks on Wednesday, Israeli aircraft fired missiles at a Hamas camp in southern Gaza and a Hamas-affiliated school in Gaza City, and shelled open areas in the north. A
13-year-old boy was seriously wounded in the head by shrapnel, Palestinian medical officials said.
Israel8217;s Security Cabinet convened early on Wednesday, and Army Radio reported it would approve sending forces into populated parts of northern Gaza. RAMIT PLUSHNICK-MASTI