Hundreds of protesters blocked the entrance to the city in response to the latest round of rockets attacks from Gaza, prompting Olmert to visit the city council of Ashkelon, a city in the western Negev, The Jerusalem Post said.

Olmert noted that "this has been Israel's reality for the past 60 years and this demands restraint as well as strength."

He said that the recent lull in attacks on the southern town of Sderot wasn't because of the militants "love for Israel," Ynetnews said.

Olmert credited the incursion into Gaza with putting a temporary halt to the attacks, saying "We are doing this because of a reality that leaves us no other choice, so that their pain makes them stop (firing at us)," the prime minister said.

He urged, however, the residents to get used to the attacks, noting, "Don't conduct yourselves as though the (rocket attacks) were not a one-time thing."