JERUSALEM - Israeli aircraft struck camps used by the Islamic militant group Hamas on Tuesday, a day after a Palestinian rocket attack killed an Israeli woman, and officials suggested even Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas could be a target.
Israel vowed harsh retaliation in response to Monday night's deadly rocket attack on the southern town of Sderot, about a mile from Gaza. However, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert acknowledged there is no quick solution for the rocket barrages.
Israeli defense officials said the army would step up attacks on Palestinian militants, warning even top leaders of Hamas could be in danger. The defense officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media, said there were no immediate plans for a large-scale ground operation in Gaza.
Asked about Haniyeh in a radio interview, Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh described Hamas' leadership as "terrorists in suits."
"We don't care if he's a ringleader, a perpetrator of rocket launching or if he is one of the political leaders," Sneh later told The Associated Press. "No one has immunity."
Leaders of Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups in Gaza already have taken precautions to avoid Israeli attacks, turning off cell phones and staying indoors.
In Gaza, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri threatened harsh retaliation if the group's leaders are attacked.
"Harming ... any of Hamas' leadership will cost the occupation dearly," he said. "This will mean responses." He did not elaborate.
Hamas dominates the Palestinian government after sweeping to power in a 2006 election. But it recently formed a coalition with the rival Fatah faction.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah traveled from his West Bank headquarters to Gaza for talks with Hamas' leadership in a last-ditch attempt to salvage a truce with Israel and to rein in factional bloodletting between the two factions. Fatah officials said Abbas would meet Haniyeh but would not divulge the timing or location, citing security concerns.
After a six-month lull, Israel resumed airstrikes on militant targets in Gaza on May 16 in response to heavy rocket fire. More than 40 Palestinians, most of them militants, have been killed.
But Israel's high-tech army has not been able to find a solution for countering the crude, homemade rockets. In the past week, more than 150 rockets have landed around nearby Sderot, a town of 24,000 people.
Seven more rockets were fired at Israel on Tuesday, injuring two people, the army said. Israel responded with four airstrikes, targeting two suspected weapons depositories and the two Hamas camps. Palestinian officials said seven people were wounded.
Later, an Israeli helicopter strafed a rocket launch site with machine-gun fire, wounding three people, Palestinian security officials and hospital staff said. They could not say whether the casualties were militants.
The Israeli military said it fired at areas known to be used for launching rockets, but could not confirm hitting anyone. Hamas said it had fired at Israel shortly before the helicopter attack and Israeli Channel One TV, reporting live from Sderot, said two rockets fell there, one in an empty street and one in a wheat field.
Tensions were heightened following Monday night's rocket attack on the town, which killed a 31-year-old woman. She was the first Israeli killed by a Qassam rocket since November.
Olmert rushed to Sderot late Monday for the second time in a week to try to calm residents.
"We will continue to invest and will continue to protect you, but you of course know that there is no immediate solution for the Qassams and there is no definitive solution," Olmert said, according to a statement from his office.
He pledged to speed up the process of reinforcing homes to protect against the rockets.
"I understand your anger, frustration and hardship," he said.
On Tuesday, the government evacuated hundreds of Sderot residents to hotels in other parts of the country for the Shavuot holiday, which was beginning at sundown. The evacuation was orderly, and Israeli soldiers helped people board the buses, shouting out orders through megaphones.
"This is really an unbearable situation. But one thing is for certain. We have to wake up the government to the fact that this is not the solution. The real solution is that the Palestinians should have to evacuate," said Michael Amsalem, a Sderot town councilor.
Monday night's attack came during a meeting in Sderot between Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Javier Solana, the European Union foreign policy chief. They were not harmed.
Angry Sderot residents demonstrated outside the building where Solana and Livni were meeting and later burned tires, charging that the Israeli government has failed to protect them.
Solana denounced the violence, and Livni called for international action "to put pressure on the terrorists and the Palestinian government and not compromise with terror."
Hamas' rocket attacks apparently have been aimed at drawing in Israel and ending the Palestinian infighting, which killed some 50 people last week.
Ahmed Youssef, a senior Hamas official, said the group would consider talks on a cease-fire if Israel first stopped its "mad attacks."
"The aggression must stop so we can talk about a comprehensive cease-fire," said Youssef, a top aide to Haniyeh. "The government is working on expanding the truce. This is a national interest."
However, Israel dismissed talk of a new cease-fire, saying Hamas never sticks to them.
"Hamas ... is leading the violence," Defense Minister Amir Peretz said Tuesday before meeting Solana in Jerusalem. "We don't intend on stopping. We will stop at the point that the rockets stop."
