Israel has weighed launching an offensive on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip as violence intensified days after a calm ended. According to press reports, the government of interim Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday was debating during its weekly cabinet meeting whether to launch major military strikes against the Palestinian coastal strip.
"A responsible government is not eager to launch war but does not avoid it either, therefore we will take the necessary steps," Olmert said as the meeting began.
Earlier, a senior Israeli defence official told AFP that a major military confrontation in the territory was unavoidable as Palestinians again targeted southern Israel with rockets. "It is obvious where we are heading in Gaza. The situation is intolerable but clear. The army's considerations are the only thing that is deciding when events will unfold," the defence official said.
On Sunday morning, Palestinians said they fired 10 rockets and mortar rounds into southern Israel. One hit on a house in the town of Sderot, lightly wounding one person, rescue services said. Shortly afterwards, Israeli warplanes targeted rocket launchers about to fire projectiles, an army spokesman told AFP. No injuries were reported.
