On Dec. 8, the army distributed leaflets in the Israeli city of Ashdod,
about 25 kilometers north of the Gaza Strip. The leaflets said Ashdod, which
contains a naval port, could become the next target of Hamas-aligned missile
and rocket attacks.
"Over recent years southern settlements have been dealing with rocket
fire from the Gaza Strip," the army leaflet said. "Considering the
possibility that that the rockets may also reach your area of residence, it
is very important you begin preparing yourself and your family to contend
with these difficulties."
So far, the Hamas regime has limited its missile and rocket strikes to
targets no farther than Ashkelon, about 10 kilometers north of the Gaza
Strip. In December 2008, Ashkelon came under the first Hamas mortar strikes
in what officials said marked an escalation of the war with the Islamic
regime.
Officials said Hamas has acquired Katyusha-origin rockets from Iran and
Syria with a range of 30 kilometers. They said the rockets arrived in the
Gaza Strip by both land and sea from Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.
The army has also distributed the leaflets to the cities of Kiryat Gat
and Kiryat Malachi. Officials said the army also held seminars for schools
in the southern town of Ofakim on how to respond to missile attacks.
Officials said the government would also consider the installation of
systems that would warn of missile and rocket strikes from the Gaza Strip.
Such a system has already been installed in Ashkelon.
On Dec. 7, the Cabinet approved the allocation of $150 million to
reinforce homes in Israeli communities within 4.5 kilometers of the Gaza
Strip. Officials acknowledged that several similar decisions had been
ignored.
