Hamas rocket brings Tel Aviv within range
Posted: 03 November 2009 1903 hrs

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JERUSALEM - The Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas has test-fired a rocket which can reach Tel Aviv from the Gaza Strip, a senior Israeli general warned on Tuesday.

The rocket, believed to be Iranian-made, has a range of about 60 kilometres, putting Israel's major population centres in range, said Major General Amos Yadlin, head of military intelligence.

The Hamas movement, which rules Gaza, apparently successfully test-fired the rocket out to sea, Yadlin told a closed-door meeting of parliament's foreign affairs and defence committee, according to a participant.

Militants have in recent years fired thousands of rockets into southern Israel, but most with a range of just a few kilometres.

But although Hamas is trying to expand its arsenal, it does not appear ready for another conflict with Israel following Israel's December-January assault on Gaza in response to rocket attacks, Yadlin said.

Instead, they appear focused on consolidating their rule over the coastal enclave, he said. Hamas fighters seized power in the impoverished Gaza Strip in 2007, expelling secular forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas.

- AFP/ir