Gaza/Israel

       The Israel Air Force on Sunday bombed a group of Palestinians militants in Gaza as they were preparing to fire Qassam rockets at the western Negev. The Israel Defense Forces reported a direct hit and said casualties were identified. The strike came just as Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's cabinet on Sunday allocated NIS 600 million for the reinforcement of homes in communities near the Gaza Strip border. The funds, intended to protect building in the Qassam-battered towns, will be distributed over the course of three years.As part of the government program, protected rooms will be constructed in residential buildings and ground-level homes in communities within a 4.5 kilometer radius from the border fence. Southern Israel was battered by further Qassam rocket fire from Gaza on Sunday afternoon, as residents of the Negev town of Sderot practiced their response to a Qassam alert. One of the rockets struck at the entrance to Sderot, and two more fell in open areas in the Shaar Hanegev area. There were no casualties or reports of damage as a result of the rocket fire. Meanwhile, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who heads Labor, and the Kadima chief, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, faced off Sunday morning over Israel's response to the ongoing rocket fire. (19,24)