Israel said the offensive was an attempt to halt rocket fire from inside Gaza, which had
escalated last weekend. But the air strikes instead triggered new waves of rocket launches, which rained down on towns and villages in southern Israel Wednesday night and Thursday.
One struck a direct hit on the top floor of a four-story apartment building in this modest town near Ashkelon. Two men and one woman were killed, Israeli officials said, and an 11-month-old baby was critically injured. Three Israeli soldiers also were wounded in rocket attacks.