Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon vowed on Sunday that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) would expand an offensive in Gaza and the operation, called Days of Penitence, will last as long as necessary.

Sharon has postponed a planned trip to Germany in the wake of the IDF's large-scale operation that has killed at least 62 Palestinians.

Sharon instructed Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz on Sunday to come up with new methods to stop the firing of Qassam rockets into Israeli territory from Gaza.

"We are talking about a complicated struggle. I have instructed the minister of defense to take every action, and to find new methods in case there will be a need for them," Sharon told Israel Army Radio.

However he did not elaborate on the new methods, nor guarantee that the methods will put a complete halt to attacks.

On Saturday, the prime minister said the IDF operation has no time limit and its aim is to drive the Qassam rocket launchers out of range of Israeli towns, kill leaders of Palestinian military groups and destroy weapons-making workshops.

Israeli Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon said the operation would continue until the southern Israeli town of Sderot is no longer under a constant threat from Qassam rockets.

"Altogether, this operation is successful. We will continue this operation as long as we need. The troops are ready to continue, not in terms of days, but weeks," Ya'alon told reporters in Gaza.

The IDF operation in the northern Gaza Strip has entered its fifth day Sunday with about 2,000 Israeli soldiers in hundreds of armored vehicles surrounding the Jabalya refugee camp and the village of Beit Hanun.

The Israeli army said earlier that more than 120 rockets of the kind have been fired toward Israeli targets this year.

Israeli troops also surrounded the town of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip.

According to Army Radio, IDF troops killed three Islamic Jihad (holy war) militants earlier Sunday morning, two in the Jabalya refugee camp and one in Beit Hanun. In the Jabalya clashes, two Palestinian civilians were also killed.

Three Palestinian children, who suffered critical wounds on Friday and Saturday, died at Shiffa Hospital in Gaza City Sunday evening.

The Information Center of the Palestinian Health Ministry said more than 70 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli onslaught.

A spokesman for the Palestinian cabinet said earlier that all the Palestinian diplomatic efforts would fail until the international community steps in to prompt the Israeli government to halt the operation.

The US administration is the only effective party that would oblige Israel to stop this military aggression, but it is busy with its elections and "doesn't care about Israel committing massacres against us," said Hassan Abu Lebda, director general of the Palestinian cabinet.

He noted that "the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) is still exerting efforts and holding contacts with so many parties all over the world to oblige Israel to pull out of the area of the northern Gaza Strip."

"We would wait until Monday to see if we can stop the Israeli military aggression against our people through the UN Security Council and the General assembly," he added

Addressing Gaza Palestinians by radio, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat urged his people to stand firm "against those racists, barbarians and criminals."

He also called on the militants to stop rocket attacks to avoid "giving the Israelis a pretext."

Earlier Saturday, the PNA declared a state of emergency and decided to hold an emergency meeting to discuss the escalation of the Israeli operation in northern Gaza.

The Arab League (AL) decided at an emergency meeting Sunday to refer the Israeli military operations in the Palestinian territories to the UN Security Council.

AL chief Amr Moussa said Arab states would also urge the quartet, namely the United States, the United Nations, the European Union and Russia, to deal with the situation to bring peace to the Middle East.

He added that the AL also decided to seek urgent aid from the Arab and international Red Crescent societies due to the dangerous situation in the Palestinian territories.

Jordan's King Abdullah II warned Sunday that Israel's arrogance, assassination and mass killing of Palestinians, as well as destruction of their properties and infrastructure, would prompt more violence, instability and extremist actions in the region.

Top Hamas militant in Gaza, Ismail Haniyah, announced on Saturday that his organization was willing to stop firing Qassam rockets at Israeli towns, if the Jewish state stops its "aggression."

However, four Hamas gunmen said earlier that the organization would put up a tough fight against Israeli troops who have set up positions inside Jabalya for the first time in four years, in an obvious preparation for a long fight.

"All our cells are spread out throughout Jabalya, as part of our plan to kick out the enemy," one of the gunmen said. "We will teach the enemy a lesson he will not forget."
 
(Xinhua News Agency October 4, 2004)