IDF gets green light to continue Operation Cast Lead

The Israel Defense Forces yesterday recommended a major, but relatively short-term, ground offensive in the Gaza Strip as military preparations continued on the border. The army was given the green light to forge ahead with Operation Cast Lead, which enters its sixth day today.

Detailed briefings have been underway for the past two days at Southern Command, with officers receiving their orders. The General Staff believes that more pressure must be put on Hamas to make it agree to a long-term cease-fire under conditions more favorable to Israel.

The IDF said rocket fire on the south was expected to continue during a ground operation. The army recommends that a diplomatic exit plan be prepared while a cease-fire agreement is formulated.

While defense officials tend to favor a clear agreement with Hamas, even if it is not enshrined in a written document, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni is considering another idea.

She reportedly believes that it might be better to aim for a situation in which there is no clearly set-out agreement, but Israel would make clear beforehand that it would respond forcefully to any firing from Gaza after hostilities ended.

Yesterday around 70 rockets were fired at the Negev, among them some 10 Katyushas with a range of about 40 kilometers. These landed in Be'er Sheva and around Ashdod.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said yesterday that Israeli attacks on Gaza had to stop before any truce proposals could be considered. He added in a speech that "the siege must be lifted and all the crossings must be opened because the siege is the source of all of Gaza's problems."

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told cabinet ministers that Israel would not conclude its operation until all its goals had been reached. Earlier, Israel rejected a French proposal for a 48-hour cease-fire.

Meanwhile, Israel decided to open the Kerem Shalom crossing to the Gaza Strip to allow in 106 trucks carrying humanitarian aid.