This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/middle_east/7270650.stm

The article has changed 10 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 4 Version 5
Israel warns of Gaza 'holocaust' Gaza militants 'risking disaster'
(about 3 hours later)
Israeli leaders are warning of an imminent conflagration in Gaza after Palestinian militants aimed rockets at the southern city of Ashkelon. Israel's deputy defence minister has said the Palestinians will bring a big disaster upon themselves if they step up rocket attacks on Israel.
The deputy defence minister said the stepped-up rocket fire would trigger what he called a "bigger holocaust" in the Hamas-controlled coastal strip. Matan Vilnai said Israel would use all its might to defend itself, after Palestinian rockets hit the city of Ashkelon, 10km (six miles) from Gaza.
Israeli air strikes have killed about 30 Palestinians, including six children in the past two days. At a rally attended by thousands in Gaza, Hamas leader Ismail Haniya said it was ready for a large-scale attack.
Israel has activated its early warning system in Ashkelon for the first time. Israeli air strikes have killed about 30 Palestinians in the past three days.
One rocket hit a block of flats in the city of 120,000 inhabitants about 10km (six miles) north of the Gaza Strip breaking through the roof and slicing through three floors below. Four Palestinian boys were killed in an Israeli raid as they played in a field in northern Gaza on Thursday. Several militants, including a Hamas commander, were also killed.
ISRAEL-HAMAS ATTACKS Friday: Israeli city Ashkelon activates warning system after Palestinian rocket hitsIsraeli air raids continue, with four wounded in Jabaliya Thursday: Four children killed near Jabaliya refugee campHamas militant killed near Shati refugee campHamas militant killed near Beit HanounThree Hamas militants and two from PRC group killed in Gaza City Wednesday: Six-month-old boy killed near interior ministryFive Hamas militants near Khan YounisIslamic Jihad militant near Bureij refugee campIsraeli civilian killed in Sderot class="" href="/1/hi/in_pictures/7270193.stm">In pictures: Gaza violence No-one was injured, but another rocket landed near a school, wounding a 17-year-old girl. The string of attacks came a day after a rocket fired by Hamas killed an Israeli student on the outskirts of Sderot, about a mile from Gaza, the first such death in nine months.
"The more [rocket] fire intensifies and the rockets reach a longer range, they (the Palestinians) will bring upon themselves a bigger holocaust because we will use all our might to defend ourselves," Matan Vilnai told Israeli army radio. 'No choice'
Correspondents say the "holocaust" is a term rarely used in Israel outside discussions of the Nazi genocide during World War II. The barrage continued on Friday with militants aiming several Grad rockets at Ashkelon, a major Israeli city which has 120,000 residents.
Separately, the chairman of the parliamentary defence and foreign affairs committee said Israel troops must topple the Hamas movement in Gaza and take over areas used to fire rockets. class="" href="/1/hi/world/middle_east/7268876.stm">Rocketeers confound Israel class="" href="/1/hi/world/middle_east/7270168.stm">Rocket cat and mouse
"The state of Israel must make a strategic decision to order the army to prepare quickly," Tzachi Hanegbi told Israel Radio. The Iranian-made rockets are said to have a range of about 22km (14 miles).
Code red One rocket hit a block of flats in the city, breaking through the roof and slicing through three floors below, while another landed near a school, wounding a 17-year-old girl.
Israeli aircraft launched at least three raids on Gaza overnight. In one attack in the Jabaliya area at least four people were wounded including two children. It is the first time Israeli officials have ordered Code Red sirens to be sounded in Ashkelon and reports say soldiers from the Israeli military's Home Front Command have been hanging posters around the city instructing residents on what to do when the warning sounds.
One Israeli civilian was killed in rocket fire on Wednesday. Of the Palestinian fatalities, about half have been civilians, including at least six children.
Rocketeers confound IsraelRocket cat and mouse Hamas has called on Palestinians and Arabs to hold protests after Friday prayers against Israel's raids on Gaza.
Israeli security officials said that the rockets fired at Ashkelon have been Grad-type imports made in Iran with a range of about 22km.
It is the first time Israel has ordered Code Red sirens to be sounded in Ashkelon as well as Sderot, the town almost abutting Gaza territory where the civilian was killed.
Reports say dozens of soldiers in orange berets from the Israeli military's Home Front Command have been hanging posters around the city instructing residents on what to do when the warning sounds.
"It's a city with large facilities - a huge soccer stadium, and a basketball stadium, and a beach. No-one is ready for this," Ashkelon mayor Roni Mehatzri told Israel Radio."It's a city with large facilities - a huge soccer stadium, and a basketball stadium, and a beach. No-one is ready for this," Ashkelon mayor Roni Mehatzri told Israel Radio.
Israel's leadership has been under pressure in some quarters to launch a ground invasion of Gaza to end the rocket fire. However, a recent opinion poll also indicated a majority of Israel's favour a negotiated truce with Hamas. ISRAEL-HAMAS ATTACKS Friday: Israeli city Ashkelon activates warning system after Palestinian rocket hitsIsraeli air raids continue, with four wounded in Jabaliya Thursday: Four children killed near Jabaliya refugee campHamas militant killed near Shati refugee campHamas militant killed near Beit HanounThree Hamas militants and two from PRC killed in Gaza City Wednesday: Six-month-old boy killed near interior ministryFive Hamas militants near Khan YounisIslamic Jihad militant near Bureij refugee campIsraeli civilian killed in Sderot class="" href="/1/hi/in_pictures/7270193.stm">In pictures: Gaza violence
Hamas has been shunned by the West for refusing to recognise Israel's legitimacy, it beat the Fatah faction in a parliamentary election two years ago. Israel's leaders have been under pressure in some quarters to launch a ground invasion of Gaza to end the rocket fire and although they are reluctant, Mr Vilnai admitted on Friday that they may have "no other choice".
Hamas says it will cease fire if Israel stops military operations in Palestinian areas. It is also demanding an end to the Israeli-led blockade of Gaza that has cut supplies to its 1.5m inhabitants. Speaking on Israel Army Radio, Mr Vilnai said if Palestinians increased rocket fire, they will bring upon themselves what he called a "shoah" - a Hebrew word for catastrophe, and for the Nazi Holocaust.
The BBC's Katya Adler in Jerusalem says many of Mr Vilnai's colleagues have quickly distanced themselves from his comments and also tried to downplay them saying he did not mean genocide.
"We're getting close to using our full strength. Until now, we've used a small percentage of the army's power because of the nature of the territory," he added.
Separately, the chairman of the Knesset's defence and foreign affairs committee, Tzachi Hanegbi, said Israel "must make a strategic decision to order the army to prepare quickly".
A recent opinion poll has indicated a majority of Israelis favour a truce with Hamas.
'Crazy war'
The Islamist movement, which seized control of Gaza in June, has said it will cease fire if Israel stops its military operations in Palestinian areas and ends the blockade of the territory which has cut essential supplies to its 1.5m inhabitants.
Mr Haniya said any Israeli invasion would end in terrible failure
Addressing a crowd of around 2,000 Hamas supporters at a rally held after Friday prayers in Gaza City, former Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya said Israel was deluded if it thought it could now remove his group.
"Gaza today faces a real war, a crazy war led by the enemy against our people," he said.
"What does a large-scale raid mean? You were in the Gaza Strip and you quit because of the resistance. What does assassination mean? If some leaders are assassinated, would the cause be assassinated?" he asked.
Several senior Hamas leaders, including Mr Haniya, have remained out of public view during the last six weeks because of fears that Israel might try to kill them.
Mr Haniya, who was dismissed by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas after Hamas ousted his Fatah movement in Gaza, said any Israeli attempt to invade would "end in terrible failure just like all the other rounds have failed".
A senior Palestinian negotiator in the ongoing peace talks between the PA and the Israeli government, Saeb Erekat, also condemned the recent Israeli air strikes and urged both sides to work towards a ceasefire.
"We strongly condemn this bloodbath and the massacring of our people," he told al-Jazeera.