Defense Minister Amir Peretz on Wednesday vowed that Israel would continue its pressure on the Gaza Strip to alleviate Qassam fire, a day after one person was killed and two others seriously wounded in multiple strikes on Sderot.

Peretz asked the defense establishment to present him with a new operational plan for targeting rocket launchers.

He said that Israel would hit terror with "hard and painful" strength if moderate Palestinian elements did not exert more strength.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Thursday expressed reservations over a widespread military operation in the Gaza Strip similar in scope to Operation Defensive Shield in the West Bank in 2002.

Instead, Olmert told reporters on his return to Israel from a visit to the United States, he favored pinpoint strikes.

"There are many opinions on how to deal with the Qassam fire," he said. "We have to remember that this war will not be over in one blow."

"Those who are always bringing up Defensive Shield as an example and calling for a similar operation in the Gaza Strip need to remember that the terrorism will never end altogether, and in the West Bank it continues to this day.

"I take this [Qassam] fire seriously, but each of our actions in Gaza will last according to information, preparation and the ability to curtail this fire as much as possible."

Olmert was speaking a day after the right-wing factions in the Knesset called for a harsh response to Wednesday Qassam attacks on Sderot that killed a 57-year-old woman and left two others seriously wounded.

The chairman of the National Religious Party-National Union, MK Uri Ariel, said that if Israel did not embark on a "Defensive Shield 2," it would end up with "Lebanon War 3."

Olmert said that Israel and Egypt were working on ways to stem the flow of weapons into the southern Gaza town of Rafah, which has increased dramatically in the wake of Israel's 2005 pullout.

"We are doing a great deal on this issue, but are not always successful," Olmert said. "The Egyptians are also taking action but not always with the expected efficiency. With regards to the extension of the agreements [with Egypt] on Rafah and the Philadelphi Route, we intend to examine all the factors that would facilitate the prevention of weapons distribution in this area. There are no plans to change the current framework, but rather to make the present arrangements more efficient."

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