In what came as a great surprise to many, given the latest dramatic occurrences in the Gaza Strip in the last few days, which brought the death of no less than 47 Palestinian citizens and the serious injury of 250 others, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert issued an official statement on Sunday in order to announce that he has decided to prolong the five-day Israeli military incursions in the Palestinian territories, in order to "significantly decrease' the Qassam rocket fire sparked by Palestinian armed factions against Israeli cities.

"The operation is limited in time but we have no intention of announcing when it will end. When we reach the conclusion that the effectiveness of the operation is bringing us closer to reaching the goals, we will definitely pull our forces out of Gaza ... We have no intention of staying in Gaza", Olmert stated.

However, in spite of the massive killings, especially in the city of Beit Hanoun, with the latest casualty tolls including a 12 year old girl on Saturday, as well as 12 adult Palestinians, most of them members of Hamas, during the entire weekend, and two 17 year old volunteer paramedics from the Palestinian ambulance, in nearby Beit Lahiya, Palestinian gunmen continued to launch their Qassam rockets towards the Jewish state, most of them striking the city of Sderot, which is located in the proximity of the Israeli-Gaza border.

On the other hand, Olmert's decision to press on with the military offensive in Gaza sparked massive both domestic and international criticism, especially from the European Union and Pope Benedict XVI as well as from at least 100 Palestinian paramedics, who organized a protest march in Gaza City on Sunday. While the Finnish presidency of the EU issued a formal statement, in which it states that "The right of all states to defend themselves does not justify disproportionate use of violence or actions which are contrary to international humanitarian law", the pontiff urged both sides to come to negotiations, given the "grave deterioration" of the Middle East conflict.