JERUSALEM, May 17 (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has told residents of a border town hit by dozens of Palestinian rockets in recent days that his government would stand firm and work to reduce the attacks. Olmert's spokeswoman Miri Eisin said the premier told people in Sderot during a visit lasting several hours on Thursday that "we have to stand strong" and he pledged government help. But, as Israel mounted a series of air strikes and a ground raid in Gaza, Olmert made no comment on operational specifics, she said. Also meeting relatives of some of those injured in recent days was Defence Minister Amir Peretz, who himself lives in Sderot, close to the frontier with the northern Gaza Strip. "The prime minister ... expressed his empathy and how much he and the government are there for the people of Sderot," Eisin said, adding that two rockets had landed during the visit. "He talked about the fact that we have to stand strong," she said. "That we have to get down the amount of attacks." Olmert and Peretz were heavily criticised by an official inquiry that reported last month on their handling of last year's war with Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon. Both have resisted calls for their resignation.
