Israeli leaders defer "final" Gaza thrust

By Dan Williams

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel postponed on Wednesday a decision on whether to order its armed forces to storm the Gaza Strip's urban centres, an Israeli official said, citing Egyptian- and French-led efforts to secure a truce with Hamas.

Escalating from a week-long air assault, Israeli troops and tanks invaded the coastal enclave on Saturday, clashing with Palestinian guerrillas but not advancing beyond the outskirts of the city of Gaza or other densely populated areas.

Israel called the initial ground sweep the "second stage" of an operation to counter cross-border Palestinian rocket salvoes, without giving details on what might follow. That opacity helped spur a frenzy of international cease-fire mediation.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's security cabinet convened on Wednesday morning to discuss the third -- and final -- stage of the offensive but deferred voting on it to an undisclosed date.

"The plan is to enter the urban centres," one official, who declined to be named, said before the closed-door deliberations.

Postponing a final decision on the plan allowed Israel to keep its forces in readiness while maintaining leeway for any breakthrough in the Egyptian- and French-led ceasefire talks.

"We are pursuing parallel military and diplomatic tracks, so this is no simple matter," an Israeli defence official said.

Amos Gilad, a senior aide to Defence Minister Ehud Barak, told Israel's Army Radio the Gaza sweep was "at a cross-roads."