Despite casualties in Qassam strike, IDF says Zikim base properly fortified

Israel Defense Forces officers said yesterday that the Zikim basic training base is adequately fortified compared to other places near the Gaza Strip, in spite of the early-morning Qassam rocket strike that wounded 69 soldiers, one critically.

This was the largest number of people injured in any single Palestinian rocket attack.

The rocket hit an empty tent used for administrative purposes during the daytime, but many soldiers were hit by shrapnel while sleeping in adjacent tents.

While a warning alarm sounded moments before the rocket struck, many of the soldiers were sleeping and did not reach a bomb shelter in time.

Of the 69 soldiers injured, one was critically wounded, four were seriously hurt, and another 10 were moderately wounded. Most of the remainder were suffering mainly from shock.

Roughly 25 Magen David Adom ambulances rushed to the northern Negev base, which is about one kilometer from the Gaza border.

Meanwhile, dozens of worried relatives flooded in from around the country, calling on the army to protect soldiers from further rocket fire from the nearby Gaza Strip.

The parents complained that their sons had to sleep in tents rather than protected buildings, even though the base is within rocket range.

Others demanded that the army immediately transfer the soldiers, who are non-combat troops undergoing basic training, to bases out of the range of Palestinian rockets and far from the Gaza Strip.

"For heaven's sake, you brought them to Gaza and they're sitting ducks with no place to hide," said Benny Cohen of Ashdod, whose son Itzik serves at the base. "My boy hides under his bed when there's a Color Red," warning of an imminent rocket attack, "or else they're ordered into the latrine or the dining hall."

An IDF spokesman said that two more fortified cement structures had been set up at the base, and that the army would work faster to fortify the facility.

Both the radical Islamic Jihad and the Popular Resistance Committees claimed responsibility for the rocket strike.

Hamas yesterday called the rocket attack a "victory from God." Hours after the pre-dawn salvo, Israel Air Force aircraft struck open areas in northern Gaza, Army Radio reported. Palestinian sources said at least four Gazans were hurt in the air strike, two of whom were hospitalized.

"We consider this a victory from God for the resistance," said Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhum. "We consider the resistance as the legitimate right of the Palestinians to defend themselves and restore their rights."

A second Qassam landed in the western Negev later in the morning, causing damage but no injuries.

The strike came amid growing calls for a more aggressive Israeli response to the near-daily rocket barrages from Gaza. While blaming Hamas for the attack, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni nonetheless said Israel also has non-military means with which to respond.