Rocket from Gaza hits Israeli city of Ashkelon

JERUSALEM, July 4 (Reuters) Palestinian militants in Gaza today carried out their deepest rocket attack against Israel, hitting a school in the coastal city of Ashkelon, military sources said.

No one was hurt in the attack, which caused damage to the school, the sources said.

Ashkelon, a city of about 115,000, is about 10 km from the Gaza Strip. Rockets fired by Palestinian militants have struck the edges of the city but this was the first time one has hit its centre.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which coincided with an Israeli military offensive in Gaza to secure the release of a soldier abducted by Palestinian gunmen in a cross-border raid on June 25.

Palestinian militants said recently they had improved the range of their homemade Qassam rockets, which they have been firing daily at southern Israel.

Reuters SHB RN2309