Palestinian terrorists operating out of the Gaza Strip fired 18 rockets at the battered southern Israel town of Sderot on Wednesday. A young Israeli girl was wounded by shrapnel, and numerous other people were treated for shock.

The Islamic Jihad terrorist organization and a Hamas-dominated umbrella group both claimed credit for the attack.

Israel's security cabinet convened an emergency session in the wake of the barrage, but decided to continue with a policy of targeted military actions against the Gaza-based terrorist infrastructure, rather than launch the broad ground invasion many security experts say is the only way to curb the rocket fire.

Shortly after the cabinet meeting, Sderot Mayor Eli Moyal tendered his resignation, saying he could no longer bear the burden of trying to protect his town's residents, while the central government refuses to do everything in its power to likewise defend its citizens.

Moyal has long criticized the government of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert for not honoring its commitment to launch a crushing response to the Gaza rocket fire and thereby create a deterrent to future attacks. Moyal and others have also noted that no country in the world would accept the daily bombardment of its towns by an external enemy.