Israeli PM says no timetable set for Gaza offensive

    JERUSALEM, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Sunday that there would be no timetable for the ongoing Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip aimed to free a kidnapped soldier and halt Palestinian militant rocket firing.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert speaks at a cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, July 9, 2006. He said on Sunday that there would be no timetable for the ongoing Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip aimed to free a kidnapped soldier and halt Palestinian militant rocket firing.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert(R 2nd) presides over a cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, July 9, 2006.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

    "This is a war and it can't be assigned a timetable," Olmert said at a cabinet meeting on Sunday.

    Olmert also reiterated Israel's stance, refusing to negotiate with Palestinian militants who took 19-year-old Gilad Shalit hostage, saying that negotiating with the kidnappers would only encourage future abductions.

    Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz said during the meeting that the Israeli army would continue to enter and quit the Gaza Strip to carry out military operations if needed.

    Peretz said that the operations would focus on targeting rocket launch sites and areas in which cross-border tunnels may have been dug by Palestinian militants.

    "The army is operating in a gradual and planned manner, to increase pressure on the militants in an effort to free Shalit without any preconditions," said the minister, adding that diplomatic efforts were underway in parallel to the military operations in Gaza.

    Israeli army sources said that about 20 Palestinians were killed over the weekend during Israeli military operations in Gaza, bringing the death toll of the Palestinians to about 50 since Israel launched the "Summer Rain" offensive on June 28.

    Israel quit the entire Gaza Strip last summer after 38 years of military rule. Enditem

Israeli helicopter strikes weapon depot in Gaza

    GAZA, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Apache helicopter fired a missile at an empty building used by militants to store homemade weapons in southern Gaza City Sunday night, causing severe damages but no injuries, Palestinian security sources said.

Black smoke rises from Beit Hanoun, a northern Gaza City, July 8, 2006. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)

An Israeli shell exploded at the Beit Hanoun, a northern Gaza City, July 8, 2006.(Xinhua/AFP Photo)

An Israeli man looks at the fallen tiles in his house in Sderot, Israel, July 9, 2006. Four people were wounded when a Kassam rocket, launched from the northern Gaza Strip, hit the house Sunday morning. (Xinhua Photo)

An Israeli man inspects his damaged house in Sderot, Israel, July 9, 2006. Four people were wounded when a Kassam rocket, launched from the northern Gaza Strip, hit the house Sunday morning. (Xinhua Photo)

    An Israeli army spokesman told Israel Radio that a weapon store that belongs to the Islamic Jihad (holy war)'s armed wing was hit in the air raid.

    But Abu Ahmed, spokesman of the militant group, denied the allegation.

    In addition, six Palestinian civilians, including a 65-year-old man and a six-year-old girl, were injured as an Israeli aircraft fired two missiles at a car carrying militants and explosives in northern Gaza City, security sources reported.

    They said that the militants escaped from the car after the first missile missed its target, and the second missile directly hit the car, causing a huge blast. Enditem

Israeli helicopter strikes blacksmith shop in Gaza

    GAZA, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Apache helicopter fired a missile at a Palestinian blacksmith shop in Zaytoon neighborhood in southern Gaza City on Sunday night, causing severe damage but no injuries, witnesses and security sources reported.

    Israel used to target metal workshops for allegedly manufacturing homemade rockets used by Palestinian militants to attack Israel.

One Palestinian killed in Israeli air raid

    GAZA, July 9 (Xinhua) -- One Palestinian was killed and at least four others were wounded in an Israeli air raid near the southern Gaza town of Rafah on Sunday, Palestinian security sources said.

    An Israeli military plane fired a missile at a car carrying five members of Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, which is an armed wing of Hamas, in the village of Shuka near Rafah, said the sources.

    The militants managed to jump out of the car and escaped the attack, but the Israeli plane then fired a second missile at the militants, said the sources.

    Reports conflicted concerning the identities of the casualties. Palestinian security sources said that one Palestinian bystander was killed and at least four others were injured.
But witnesses said that the killed Palestinian was one of the five Hamas militants targeted by the Israeli airstrike, adding that the four other militants were wounded.

    Palestinian medics said that one of the injured was in critical condition.

    The Israeli army confirmed the airstrike, which it said targeted Palestinian militants.

    Israeli troops continued a massive ground and air offensive in the Gaza Strip on Sunday in a bid to free an Israeli soldier kidnapped by Palestinian militants on June 25 and prevent Palestinian militants from firing rockets onto Israel.

    Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades took part in the June 25 cross-border raid on an Israeli army post, during which two other Israeli soldiers were killed and the 19-year-old Corporal Gilad Shalit was kidnapped. Enditem