ISRAEL—A Qassam rocket fired form Palestinian-controlled territory hit the Zikim military base, south of the city of Ashkelon, near the northern part of the Gaza strip. The attack was said to be the worse Qassam hit since Palestinian terror organizations started to fire rockets into Israel. The rocked hit an empty tent, but soldiers that were sleeping in adjacent tents were injured by the shrapnel and from the blast.
The rocket was fired from Beit Hanun in the north of the Gaza strip. Salah a-Din Brigades—the military arm of the Public Resistance Committees—and the Islamic Jihad both claimed responsibility for the attack.
An Israeli Defense Force spokesperson announced that four soldiers were injured severely. Some of those injured had only shock injuries—anxiety and stress.
The Zikim military base is used for basic training for soldiers that are assigned to non-combat duties. The soldiers that were injured were on their final day of basic training, and had only been in the army for four weeks. Most of the buildings in the base are canvas tents, which provide no protection against rockets attacks and shrapnel.
After an earlier Qassam attack, parents of injured soldiers raised a demand for better protection for the camp from rocket attacks, but no significant action was taken.
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