Israel again threatens to intensify offensive

"Apparently we will not have any other choice but to launch an expanded operation, like Defensive Shield, in order to destroy the stockpiles of weapons and to hit the terrorist organisations," said Boim, a close ally of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Defensive Shield was launched by Israel in 2002, the largest military operation in the West Bank since the 1967 Six Day War, which left more than 200 Palestinians and 29 Israeli soldiers dead and some 5,000 Palestinian detained.

"We have to completely stop the rocket fire and not to allow the terrorists to smuggle modern arms that would upset the balance of power between the forces," Boim said.

Israel has already been pounding Gaza for nearly four months after militants seized a soldier and killed two others in a cross-border raid in late June.

Three Palestinians, including a militant from the radical Islamic Jihad group, were killed Tuesday by the Israeli army in northern West Bank, security and medical officials said.