IDF and other Israeli security forces have killed approximately one thousand terrorists in Gaza alone over the past year, according to a report by the General Security Service (Shin Bet). Security chief Yuval Diskin told cabinet ministers at the weekly Sunday morning meeting, however, that at least 20,000 terrorists still live in Gaza.
US President George W. Bush reportedly gave Prime Minister Ehud Olmert a "green light" last week to authorize a large-scale ground operation into Gaza in order to end the constant mortar and Kassam rocket attacks on Jews in the western Negev. Bush insisted, however, that Israel take steps to ensure that no civilians would be harmed in the process. American troops in Iraq have been unable to achieve such a feat in the almost five years they have been stationed in Iraq.