Hamas missile kills Israeli student

An Israeli student was killed by a Palestinian rocket which landed on a college campus outside Gaza today.

Another missile exploded near a hospital in a coastal city, raising the likelihood of a new wave of fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants.

Hamas claimed responsibility for the deadly rocket attack in Sderot, which came after two Israeli airstrikes killed seven people in Gaza, including two senior commanders in the Hamas rocket operation.

After nightfall, a third Israeli strike aimed at a rocket squad killed two youngsters leaving a mosque, Palestinians said. The Israeli military said it carried out the airstrike but did not know if civilians were hit.

At least 40 rockets were fired at Israel today from Gaza, many more than the average of daily barrages that have disrupted life in the region.

The student was the first Israeli killed by a rocket since May, when two died in separate attacks.

At nightfall, four rockets exploded in the Israeli coastal city of Ashkelon six miles north of Gaza, including one near the city’s main hospital.

The fatal attack intensified calls in Israel for a large-scale ground attack in Gaza aimed at clearing the border area of rocket squads, though previous incursions have halted the salvos only briefly.

Battered residents were both angry and resigned. “We knew this was coming. It’s a shame that it happened. This is a difficult day,” Sderot’s mayor, Eli Moyal said.

Earlier today an Israeli aircraft blew up a van carrying Hamas gunmen, killing five militants, including two key masterminds of rocket attacks on Israel.

Hamas officials said the dead included a senior engineer who built rockets and commander who led a rocket squad.

Later an Israeli airstrike in northern Gaza, a frequent launching ground of the rocket squads, killed two people.