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A pair of rockets launched from Gaza hit the southern Israeli town of Sderot today, amid President Obama's first state visit to Israel and just hours before he was due to meet with the Palestinian president in the West Bank.

The rocket attack is a reminder that even if the president manages to bring Israel and the Palestinian Authority to the negotiating table, he still has to contend with the more radical Hamas in Gaza, over which the Palestinian Authority has no leverage.

The Associated Press reports that the attacks caused no injuries, though one rocket did hit the courtyard of a house in Sderot, causing minor damage, while the other landed in a field. Two more launches were detected in Gaza, but the rockets landed in the Palestinian territory.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, AP adds.

Haaretz notes that a senior Hamas official earlier this week "threatened retaliation against Israel for what he called frequent violations of the ceasefire agreement, by Israel." Haaretz says he referred to "a number of incidents where IDF forces opened fire at Palestinians approaching the Gaza security fence." The newspaper adds that today's attack was the second rocket attack from Gaza in less than a month.

Israeli officials told Haaretz that Israel was not expected to respond at this time. "The Israeli response will come at the right time and the right place," they said.

Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas, with whom Obama later met in the West Bank, criticized the attack, Reuters reports the official Palestinian Wafa news agency as saying.

"We condemn violence against civilians regardless of its source, including rocket firing," he said. "We are in favor of maintaining mutual and comprehensive calm in Gaza."

The attack highlights the difficult task facing Obama, who hopes to bring Israelis and Palestinians back to the negotiating table. Even if Israel and the PA agree to meet and relaunch peace talks, the PA has no authority over Hamas-run Gaza, which could take steps to derail any progress. Any reconciliation between the two Palestinian factions seems far off, and even Palestinians in the West Bank are becoming impatient.

 º£½Ç´óÉñ reports:

Still, the first day of Obama's visit, spent in Israel and including appearances with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres, went well. It appears to have shored up a US-Israeli relationship that had seemed tattered as recently as last year, reports the Monitor's Christa Case Bryant.