Israel is one step away from leashing out a full offensive campaign against the Islamic Jihad that now rules over the Gaza Strip because of the terror they have brought to the quiet city of Sderot. Over the last 7 years, the rockets launched by the fanatics have killed at least 12 people.

Things are really getting out of hand, as a Palestinian rocket narrowly missed a crowded kindergarten in southern Israel today.

According to Israeli officials, the Jewish state will hit back hard if the constant stream of missiles from the Gaza Strip does not stop.

Islamic Jihad, one of the most extreme of Palestinian factions, admitted to firing the rocket that landed next to a day care centre in Sderot where 15 toddlers were playing.

Fortunately, none were hurt, as shocked mothers hurried to take their infants to shelter.

Islamist militants in Gaza fire crude, unguided rockets at Sderot almost every day, although few cause serious damage or injury. However, Israeli officials have warned that a particularly bloody attack, such as a direct hit on a kindergarten, could trigger a full-scale invasion of the Gaza Strip to stem the daily volleys.

“At some stage, decided by Israel, there will be no choice but to wage a campaign in the Gaza Strip,” said Tzahi Hanegbi, chairman of parliament's Defence and Foreign Affairs Committee.

“We will not limit ourselves in regards to targeting the rocket launchers and those who dispatch them,” threatened Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister after the attack triggered panic in the working class town, where nerves have been strained for months because of the missile attacks. Sderot is less than a mile away from the Gaza Strip, which came under control of the anti-Israeli Islamist movement Hamas in fighting two months ago.

Last week, Israeli shellfire killed three Palestinian children who had wandered too close to a rocket launcher that had been set up near an urban area. Israel has also launched bloody raids into Gaza to destroy rocket positions and carried out missile attacks on Islamic Jihad leaders.