Israel plans to expand military offensive in Gaza

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.

The operation will not entrench Israel in the coastal area, Olmert was quoted as saying by Limor Livnat, a politician who took part in the committee meeting.

Olmert gave no other details to the Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee, Livnat said.

Israel has been operating in the Gaza Strip since late June, when militants with ties to the ruling Hamas group carried out a cross-border raid on a military outpost in Israel, killing two soldiers and capturing a third.