Israel vows counterattack after Gaza rocket fire

Occupied Jerusalem: Israel on Sunday vowed to strike back at Hamas after the group launched a renewed rocket fire from Gaza.

Four rockets were fired from Gaza into Israel on Sunday. No group had yet claimed responsibility.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said there will be a “severe and disproportionate Israeli response to the fire on the citizens of Israel and its security forces.''

Israel has been hit by several rockets since a January 18 ceasefire brought an end to the 22-day war on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

"We will act according to new rules that will guarantee that we are not dragged into an incessant tit-for-tat war that will not allow normal life in the south of the country," Olmert said.

Defence Minister Ehud Barak said that "Hamas was given a very serious blow and if necessary it will be given another blow."

And Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, infrastructure minister and a member of Israel's powerful security cabinet, said Hamas has to pay for each rocket fired.

"We have set a price for each rocket fired and now Hamas has to pay," he told Army Radio.