Israel defiant on Gaza assault as death toll passes 100

ISRAEL yesterday defied international criticism of its offensive in the Gaza Strip, with Ehud Olmert, the prime minister, vowing not to stop "even for a minute" as the attacks pushed the Palestinian death toll past the 100 mark.

Israeli officials, citing the growing range of rockets that has now put the city of Ashkelon under attack, say the goal is to cripple Hamas's infrastructure.

Mahmoud Abbas, the moderate Palestinian president, ordered the suspension of US-backed negotiations with Israel.

"Israel has no intention of stopping the fight against the terrorist organisations even for a minute," Mr Olmert told the cabinet. A 21-month-old girl, two other civilians and three militants were killed yesterday.

The director of the UN's agency for Palestinian refugees, John Ging, said that 49 of the 101 people killed since 27 February were civilians. "The figures speak for themselves," Mr Ging said. An army spokeswoman responded: "The army aims at armed persons and rocket launching sites. Every civilian that approaches a launching site or armed men is liable to have something happen to him."