[Ynet News] Ron Ben Yishai - Three days ago, Hamas started to target Ashkelon in order to welcome President Bush with an impressive rocket attack. Rocket cells test-fired several rockets that missed, but every strike was more accurate than the previous one. On Wednesday, they fired one of the 200 Grad (Katyusha) rockets they possess with lethal precision. As opposed to the Kassam, whose warhead contains 16 pounds of explosives, the Iranian Grad's warhead contains 44 pounds of explosives, which enabled it to penetrate the mall's thick walls and cement ceiling. The attack on Ashkelon was also Hamas' response to the terms presented by Israel Monday for a cease-fire. Hamas is unwilling to tie the release of captured IDF soldier Gilad Shalit to the cease-fire agreement and is unwilling to end arms smuggling and building up its military strength. If Israel is unwilling to accept Hamas' terms, Hamas says, it will see Grad attacks on Ashkelon and we'll see who breaks first. Hamas estimates that as long as President Bush and other leaders are in Israel, the Israeli government would not respond with a fierce military operation.
2008-05-15 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive