Israel declares unilateral cease-fire

The security cabinet last night authorized a unilateral cease-fire in the Gaza Strip to go into effect at 2 A.M., ending three weeks of intense fighting. "The objectives of the operation have been fully reached," Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said at a press conference after the cabinet meeting.

The decision was made after it became clear that Egypt was unable to reach an agreement acceptable to both Hamas and Israel to end the fighting.

"I want to thank, first and foremost, my friend the defense minister, Ehud Barak, for his professional expertise, and the understanding he showed throughout the whole operation," Olmert said.

"I also want to thank and express my appreciation to Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni for her contributions to the wide-ranging diplomatic efforts that greatly enhanced the international support Israel has received."

At the cabinet meeting, and at an earlier advisory session held by Barak, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi said he favored an immediate end to the operation and was opposed to expanding ground activity to other sectors of Gaza.

Barak said yesterday that if Hamas continued firing, the IDF would respond forcefully.

The army is planning for the possibility that Hamas will continue fighting, and military planners are eager to remove troops from Gaza quickly to avoid further casualties.

Senior army officials said last night that Hamas "might operate against us in a minor capacity, but most likely its operatives will refrain from firing Katyusha rockets after the cease-fire. If they continue launching rockets, they will receive a proportionate response. We have already marked targets to that end."

Earlier, Hamas said it would not tolerate the presence of even a single IDF soldier in Gaza after a cease-fire, effectively warning Israel that it would continue firing as long as Israeli forces remained in the territory.

Just minutes before Olmert announced the cease-fire, Hamas fired two rockets at Israel, one of them landing in the center of the coastal city of Ashdod but causing no injuries.

On Friday, Shalom Turgeman, a diplomatic adviser to Olmert, and Amos Gilad, head of the Defense Ministry's military-political department, returned from talks in Cairo. A Foreign Ministry official in Jerusalem said Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman informed them that Hamas refused Egypt's offer. The official said Hamas leaders in Gaza and Damascus were unable to reach an agreement for ending the fighting.

The leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the Czech Republic - the current EU president - will arrive in Israel today to express support for ending smuggling from Iran to Gaza.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy's office said he and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will co-chair an international summit in Egypt to discuss the Gaza crisis. Sarkozy will lead today's meeting in the Red Sea resort Sharm el-Sheikh along with Mubarak. An Egyptian official says Egypt has also invited Italy, Britain, Spain, Turkey, United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said yesterday his government is prepared to offer naval assistance to prevent arms smuggling into Gaza, and said France and Germany were also willing to help in such an effort.

Meanwhile, GOC Southern Command Yoav Galant has instructed forces in Gaza to begin preparations for the cease-fire, including limited withdrawals to more secure positions. Several hours before the cease-fire was announced, troops were instructed to refrain from taking unnecessary offensive action against targets in the Strip.