A barrage of rockets battered an Israeli town less than half a mile from the Gaza fence today – seriously wounding a woman – just before the arrival of President Shimon Peres.

Israel today promised a punishing response to the first deadly Palestinian rocket attack on the Israeli town of Sderot since the Gaza Strip evacuation last year, even as Palestinian leaders and international envoys pursued diplomatic efforts to spur deadlocked peacemaking.

A Palestinian militant was killed and another seriously wounded today when they attempted to carry out an attack against Israeli forces, Palestinian hospital officials said.

ISRAELI forces yesterday set up roadblocks on main roads in Gaza, cutting the crowded seaside territory into three parts, after militants fired rockets at a nearby Israeli town, the military said.