Islamic Jihad will likely bear the brunt of Israel's military response to the Kassam rockets that hit the western Negev on the second day of the school year, including one that slammed into a day care center's courtyard, government officials said Monday night. Islamic Jihad was responsible for all nine of the Kassam attacks, the officials said. The rockets were timed to hit when parents were taking their children to school, defense officials said. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert warned that Israel would not "live with the situation and carry on as usual." Olmert, at a press conference with visiting Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer, said the IDF and security services had standing orders "to destroy every rocket launcher and hit everyone who is involved in the rocket fire."
While Islamic Jihad fired the rockets, they did benefit from logistical assistance from Hamas, Defense Ministry officials said, and the Islamist group was doing nothing to stop the attacks. Other government officials said Hamas's political wing opposed attacks at this time, while the organization's military wing wanted to see them continue.