Israel plans to expand its military offensive in the Gaza Strip and will decide in the coming days what kind of operation to carry out, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told a parliamentary committee today.

Four influential ministers in Ariel Sharon’s Likud Party said tonight they would resign from the government if the prime minister did not agree within two weeks to hold a national referendum on his Gaza withdrawal plan.

By Mideast standards it was a pinprick attack, but a car bomb blast in Jerusalem today pushed peace talks even further into the distance.