JERUSALEM, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Israel would be able to obliterate rocket fire from the Gaza Strip in the near future, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Thursday.

　　"The government will work toward an absolute end to Qassam rocket fire, and we are not talking about a prolonged period of months," he was quoted by local daily Ha'aretz as saying.

　　Barak made the remarks during a visit to the southern Israeli town of Ashkelon, where a rocket fired from northern Gaza struck on Wednesday, wounding dozens of people.

　　Wednesday's attack "proves that despite our military action in Gaza, the militants are still firing," Barak added.

　　On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told participants at the "Facing Tomorrow" presidential conference in Jerusalem that the Israeli government is committed to stopping therocket attacks from Gaza, moments after a rocket slammed into an Ashkelon shopping center.

　　The prime minister condemned the attack, saying "what happened today is entirely intolerable and unacceptable," adding that the government would take the necessary steps "so that this will stop."

　　At least 14 Israelis were wounded Wednesday when the rocket hita shopping center in Ashkelon. Dozens were treated for shock.

　　Palestinian Islamic Jihad has claimed responsibility for the attack, local media said.

　　Home-made Qassam rockets that Palestinian militants usually fire at Israel do not have enough range to reach Ashkelon. This time the longer range Grad rocket was believed to have been involved in the attack against the city of Ashkelon, a city of 100,000 people and about 15 km to the Gaza-Israel border.