News Brief

(IsraelNN.com) The IDF counterterrorist operations in Gaza the past several days "were not a one-time operation," Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told the Security Cabinet Monday morning. "Everything is possible, [including] aerial and ground attacks," he added. "Everything is on our table of discussions."

One government official said that the pullout of ground troops from Gaza was due to the scheduled visit of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice this week. She has backed Israel's right to defend itself but has called for limiting civilian casualties.

Hamas has won media attention by an often-used tactic of showing bodies of children who were killed in previous incidents or died without any connection to counterterrorist operations.