Senior government sources explained Monday morning that the government ordered ground troops out of northern Gaza because of the impending visit by American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to the Middle East this week. The IDF now is in a "two-day" interval, sources told the Hebrew newspaper Haaretz. "This very limited operation was intended to show Hamas what could happen," an official said.

Secretary Rice is scheduled to leave the United States Monday evening to Egypt and then Ramallah and Jerusalem. Her visit coincides with the PA's announcement that it is cancelling negotiations because of Israel's counterterrorist operations.