Israel's Military Given "Free Hand" in Gaza

Israel's prime minister on Sunday gave his military a "free hand" to attack Gaza militants after a rocket slammed into a house in this town where the visiting U.N. Humanitarian chief had just called for an end to the daily attacks. Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, said he would not allow a humanitarian crisis to develop in Gaza, but the people there could not live normal lives while Israelis across the border were constantly targeted by rockets. He said we will reach out for anyone involved in perpetrating terrorism against Israelis and they would not hesitate to attack them in order to stop them. He said that applied to everyone, first and foremost Hamas. Hamas is in charge of Gaza he said. Olmert was speaking at a gathering of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations in Jerusalem. Early Sunday, Israeli ground forces backed by aircraft entered Gaza. Three Palestinian militants and a civilian were killed in clashes and an Israeli soldier was seriously wounded.