SDEROT, Israel (Reuters) - A rocket fired by Palestinian gunmen from Gaza killed a 58-year-old woman in an Israeli border town on Wednesday, prompting an angry reaction from Israel which said militants would "pay a heavy price".It was the first time since July 2005 that rockets have killed Israelis in towns and villages along the Gaza frontier.
Medical officials said two people were badly wounded in the attack on Sderot, including a security guard who works at the home of Defense Minister Amir Peretz, a resident of the town.
The armed wing of the ruling Hamas Islamist movement said it fired four rockets at Sderot and claimed responsibility for the death, saying it was in response to Israeli shelling last week that killed 19 Palestinian civilians. The Islamic Jihad militant group said it had launched two rockets. "The Zionist enemy has admitted a Zionist was killed as a result of the Qassam Brigades bombardment of Sderot," the Hamas armed wing said in a statement.
A Hamas movement spokesman also defended the rocket attack.
Peretz would meet with Israeli security chiefs later on Wednesday in the wake of the strike, his office said. "We will act against all those involved in the firing of Qassam rockets, from the heads of the terror organizations down to the last activist. The terror organizations will pay a heavy price," Peretz said in a statement.
Emergency services said the rocket that caused the casualties hit a street of the working-class town, a frequent target for rocket squads because it lies so close to Gaza. An Israeli news website said one rocket landed close to Peretz's home. Rockets also hit a nearby village. No one was wounded.
Palestinian militants have fired around 300 makeshift rockets into southern Israel since the start of the year. The missiles rarely hurt anyone but cause widespread panic.