The sources said that an Israeli child, 8 years old was seriously wounded when a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip landed in southern Israel. The rocket fell near the children in the centre of the town of Sderot. It was not clear if a house was hit. The Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip had vowed to persist in their attacks despite an Israeli cutback in power supply to the coastal territory that was meant to pressure Gazans to stop the launchings. The Israeli army and government have been reluctant to launch a large military campaign in Gaza against the rocket operation for fear both soldiers & Palestinian civilians would suffer a great number of casualties.
But analysts have said that any serious rocket attacks will put great pressure on the political echelon to approve such a broad operation.