A rocket launched by Palestinian militants in Gaza yesterday wounded at least 35 soldiers in an Israeli training camp for new conscripts. The attack is likely to increase pressure on Israeli leaders to crack down on the Hamas- controlled territory.

The Popular Resistance Committees and Islamic Jihad groups jointly claimed responsibility for the overnight strike which hit soldiers sleeping in tents at the Zikkim training base, just north of Gaza. Hamas praised the attack.

An Israeli army spokesman said the rocket, one of dozens of crude missiles fired every month from the enclave, landed on an empty tent but sent fragments tearing through others. It was the highest number of wounded in a single rocket attack launched from the Gaza Strip, which Hamas Islamists took over during fighting against the long-dominant Fatah faction of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in June.

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said the group "blessed" the rocket attack "which brought pride to Palestine".

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office said he convened Cabinet colleagues and security chiefs to discuss a response. Last week, Mr Olmert's security Cabinet decided against launching a major assault in the Gaza Strip after a rocket landed near a children's day care centre. It opted instead for what it called "pinpoint attacks" against militants.

At least 35 soldiers were still in hospital 12 hours after the attack, three of them in serious condition.