[Ha'aretz] Barak Ravid, Avi Issacharoff and Yuval Azoulay - Hamas has rockets capable of striking Ashdod and Kiryat Gat, Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) chief Yuval Diskin told the cabinet Sunday. "It is only a matter of time" before these long-range rockets are used. Diskin also warned that "the chances of a calm with Hamas are very slim." Diskin stressed that as long as the Philadelphi Route along the border between Gaza and Egypt is not totally blocked, the range of the rockets smuggled into Gaza will only increase. "We have identified Iranian efforts to transfer more sophisticated rockets to Gaza," he said. Diskin expressed his opposition to a proposed truce with Hamas in Gaza. He said if Hamas is given time to strengthen its capabilities, any future military operation in Gaza will claim more Israeli casualties.
2008-05-26 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive