More Hamas rockets hit "Israeli" settlements

Source: Press TV, 15-01-2009
Tel Aviv's military campaign against the Gaza Strip fails to curb rocket attacks as Palestinian fighters fire more missiles into "Israel".
"Israeli" media said on Thursday that two Qassam rockets, fired from the Gaza Strip, struck the southern "Israeli" settlement group of Ofakim while five other rockets hit Eshkol region.
"Israeli" officials confirmed that 16 resistance missiles hit deferent "Israeli" settlements over almost 30 minutes.
On Wednesday, Palestinian Grad-style rockets landed in the "Israeli" settlement of Askalan, Bir Sabaa, Yavneh and Ashdod.
This is while "Israeli" troops and tanks which have been trying to enter the Gaza City are still being held outside the city by the resistance fighters.
Furthermore, Eighteen "Israeli" soldiers have been wounded during clashes in the Tal al-Hawa district south of Gaza City, "Israeli" paper Ha'aretz reported Thursday.
Since the start of the "Israeli" incursion into the Gaza Strip on January 3, Palestinian groups have fired rockets deeper into "Israel", hitting two "Israeli" military bases near Tel Aviv for the first time, Hamas affiliated Al-Aqsa television said.
Last Friday, al-Qassam Grad rockets hit a major "Israeli" airbase 27 kilometers (16 miles) outside Tel Aviv. On Sunday, a Palestinian rocket struck "Israeli" Palmachim Air Force base 15 Kilometers (9 miles) away from Tel Aviv.
The "Israeli" army has not been able to capture the areas in which the Palestinian rockets are fired from.
Tel Aviv launched an "all-out war" against the Gaza Strip on December 27, in a bid to halt the rocket attacks on "Israeli" settlements - an objective it has so far failed to achieve.
Later, however, "Israeli" officials claimed that the main goal of the "Operation Cast Lead" was to topple the democratically elected Hamas government in the Gaza Strip.
Palestinians say they fire the rockets into "Israel", in response to Tel Aviv's fatal strikes on Gazans. The fighters say they will only observe a cease-fire if "Israel" withdraws from Gaza and ends the devastating blockade imposed on the territory since June 2007 - which has left the strip's already impoverished population living in dire circumstances.
"Israel's" aerial, naval and ground incursions have so far claimed 1,070 Palestinian lives in the densely-populate area. Another 5,000 have also been wounded.