Israel Preparing for Offensive Against Gaza

Let's just hope Ehud Olmert doesn't screw this up.

The Israeli defence minister warned today that armed forces were preparing for a broad offensive against Gaza in response to rocket attacks on southern Israeli towns.

The warning comes a day after the prime minister, Ehud Olmert, said he would resist calls for a ground attack.

Ehud Barak told a parliamentary committee that the country would intensify air strikes and ground incursions in Gaza, and prepare for more aggressive action.

"The operations continue every day and every night and will intensify further," he said, according to his spokesman.

"It will not happen in another two days, or in another two weeks, but we will bring about a solution to the Qassam rocket fire."

Barak told reporters after the meeting that "a broad operation in Gaza is closer today, but won't take place in a matter of days".

Barak's tough comments contrast with those made by Olmert. The prime minister is reported to have said to colleagues yesterday that he would not be pushed into a ground attack.

Olmert is under intense pressure to act against militants firing on settlements such as Sderot, where an eight-year-old boy had a leg amputated after being injured by rocket fire on Saturday.