Israeli ministers to meet on possible Gaza assault

Occupied Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is expected to hold talks on Tuesday with the defence minister and foreign minister on a possible Gaza offensive.

Public radio reported that the meeting would decide whether or not Israel mounts a large-scale attack on Palestinian fighters in the Gaza Strip.

Olmert had said that a major military operation in Gaza was more likely than a ceasefire deal, which Egypt is trying to mediate.

"As it seems now, we are closer to a military operation than to another arrangement," he said at the end of a visit to the United States. "We are nearing the decision point."