Hamas fires on Sderot

Palestinian rocket barrages against an Israeli border town
wounded five people. Hamas claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s salvoes against
Sderot, in which a home suffered a direct hit. Two of the injured were wounded seriously, and dozens of others were treated for shock. Israeli Defense
Minister Amir Peretz convened security chiefs to discuss options, but political
sources said the response would be tempered by the belief that Hamas wants to
draw an Israeli retaliation in a bid to heal increasingly violent factional
rifts within the Palestinian Authority.