Palestinian rocket wounds 3 in Israeli town

JERUSALEM, Nov 19 (Reuters) Palestinian gunmen fired a salvo of homemade rockets at the Israeli town of Sderot today, wounding three people including one seriously, medical officials and residents said.

Medical officials said the wounded had been taken to hospital after one rocket landed in the centre of the southern border town, a frequent target for gunmen in the nearby Gaza Strip. One resident said six rockets hit the town.

Right-wing politicians have called on the government to order a big offensive against gunmen in Gaza in response to an upsurge in launchings of the missiles. Rockets killed a woman and wounded several other residents in Sderot last Wednesday.

But Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the rocket fire could not be stopped in ''one fell swoop'', appearing to rule out a massive military push into the strip.

Israel withdrew forces and Jewish settlers from Gaza last year after a 38-year military occupation.

Avigdor Lieberman, an Israeli rightist recently named minister of strategic affairs, yesterday said Israel should recapture zones along Gaza's border with Egypt.

Israel accuses the Palestinians of smuggling in tonnes of ammunition from Egypt, and blames this for the recent spate of rocket fire at southern Israeli towns.

Palestinian gunmen have stepped up rocket fire after Israel killed 19 civilians including women and children in a Nov. 8 artillery shelling of the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun.

Israel apologised for the shelling, which it blamed on an artillery technical failure but said it was in response to the Palestinian rocket fire.

REUTERS SSC ND1240