The Israeli army this morning destroyed the West Bank home of one of two alleged Palestinian suicide bombers a day after 16 people were killed in bombings by the militant Hamas group.
The action came hours after Israeli Prime Minister Mr Ariel Sharon ordered the army to hunt down Palestinian militants.
He said the bombings - the first in five months - would not deter him from evacuating the Gaza Strip next year, but pledged a steadfast battle against militants who have stepped up attacks ahead of his proposed pullout.
"We will fight this terror with all our might," Mr Sharon told reporters after the attacks in the southern city of Beersheba.
Security sources declined to reveal details of the decisions taken in the late-night security meeting other than to say there would be heightened efforts to kill or arrest militants.
The last time Mr Sharon held such consultations - after a suicide bombing in March that killed 10 people at the Ashdod port - the army assassinated Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi, two top leaders from Hamas.
The militant group last night said the triple bombing in Beersheba were in revenge for the March assassinations.
This morning in the West Bank city of Hebron, soldiers blew up the first floor of a two-storey home where one of the bombers allegedly lived.
The family of the second bomber was told to move out in preparation for it to be destroyed as well, they added.
The Israeli army confirmed the home had been destroyed. A spokeswoman said the routine response to suicide bombings was a message "that anyone who is party to terrorism will pay a price."