Olmert set to keep up assault on Hamas

JERUSALEM — An Israeli man died from a Qassam rocket launched from Gaza on Sunday, and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert vowed to continue Israel's military assault on Hamas as an effort to stop the rocket fire, warning that "no one involved in terror is immune."

Oshri Oz, 36, was killed after shrapnel hit him in the neck when a rocket landed just next to his car, which then crashed, in the Israeli town of Sderot. Another Israeli was wounded.

Oz, who had a 3-year-old daughter, Danielle, and whose wife, Susanna, was pregnant, lived in another town but came to Sderot to service computers for a company there. It was the second Israeli civilian fatality in less than a week.

In a statement, Hamas took responsibility for the rocket and expressed support for the squad that fired it.

Olmert got the news of the death during the weekly Israeli Cabinet meeting.

Israel is warning that Hamas leaders involved in ordering rocket attacks may be targets of Israeli attacks, even if they are political figures. "We are not bound by any timetable in this matter," Olmert said. "We will decide where, how and to what extent we act."

He also told Israelis "to prepare for a long confrontation that does not depend on agreements" among the various Palestinian factions.

"I will not commit to coordinating our behavior with Hamas actions," he said, whether it "opens fire or halts its fire."

Olmert will meet with his security Cabinet on Wednesday, said Miri Eisin, his spokeswoman, amid speculation about expanding the Israeli military campaign.

But she said the Israeli military already "has the basic OK to act against terrorist targets and all those involved in terrorism on all levels without seeking permission."

The Cabinet on Sunday approved further government aid to Sderot and other communities near Gaza, allowing businessmen to seek compensation for indirect damage.

On Sunday evening, another rocket hit a two-story house in Sderot, spraying shrapnel. The family was inside the house in a reinforced room. One man was wounded from the percussion of the blast.

The new round of rocket fire on Sunday followed a series of Israeli bombings of Hamas facilities in Gaza on Saturday, killing five Hamas members and wounding six.