A rocket launched from the Gaza Strip exploded in an Israeli army base early yesterday, wounding 50 soldiers and drawing Israeli calls for a major military operation against rocket squads in the Gaza Strip.
The wounded soldiers were all recruits undergoing basic training at a base just north of the Gaza-Israel border and were asleep when the rocket hit an empty tent, the army said.
Eleven soldiers in nearby tents were seriously wounded in the attack and another 39 were lightly injured, it said.
Yesterday's attack marks the largest number of injuries ever sustained in a Palestinian rocket attack and comes at a time when Israeli politicians and defense officials have been calling for a more aggressive Israeli response.
"Several years ago, we should have responded strongly ... In the end we will have to act," Cabinet Minister Eli Yishai said.
Also yesterday morning, four Palestinian civilians between ages 5 and 21, members of the same family, were wounded by Israeli fire in northern Gaza, Muawiya Hassanin of Gaza's Health Ministry said.
Two were treated and released and two remained hospitalized, he said.
The army confirmed that ground forces attacked the area where militants earlier launched the rocket that hit the base.
Two groups -- Islamic Jihad and the Popular Resistance Committees -- claimed responsibility for the rocket attack.
Beijing’s continued provocations in the Taiwan Strait reveal its intention to unilaterally change the “status quo” in the area, the US Department of State said on Saturday, calling for a peaceful resolution to cross-strait issues. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) reported that four China Coast Guard patrol vessels entered restricted and prohibited waters near Kinmen County on Friday and again on Saturday. A State Department spokesperson said that Washington was aware of the incidents, and urged all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from unilaterally changing the “status quo.” “Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is in line with our [the
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READY TO WORK: Taiwan is eager to cooperate and is hopeful that like-minded states will continue to advocate for its inclusion in regional organizations, Lai said Maintaining the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, and peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region must be a top priority, president-elect William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after meeting with a delegation of US academics. Leaders of the G7, US President Joe Biden and other international heads of state have voiced concerns about the situation in the Strait, as stability in the region is necessary for a safe, peaceful and prosperous world, Lai said. The vice president, who is to be inaugurated in May, welcomed the delegation and thanked them for their support for Taiwan and issues concerning the Strait. The international community
COOPERATION: Two crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank off Kinmen were rescued, two were found dead and another two were still missing at press time The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) was yesterday working with Chinese rescuers to find two missing crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank southwest of Kinmen County yesterday, killing two crew. The joint operation managed to rescue two of the boat’s six crewmembers, but two were already dead when they were pulled from the water, the agency said in a statement. Rescuers are still searching for two others from the Min Long Yu 61222, a boat registered in China’s Fujian Province that capsized and sank 1.03 nautical miles (1.9km) southwest of Dongding Island (東碇), it added. CGA Director-General Chou Mei-wu (周美伍) told a