The Israeli security cabinet has rejected international proposals for a truce in its offensive on Hamas in Gaza, a senior government official told AFP on Wednesday.

"The cabinet decided to continue with the military operation," now in its fifth day, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"The government decided to adopt a success strategy. The government wants to reach the goals of halting terror from Gaza. Once we reach this goal we will be ready to discuss the possibility of a ceasefire."

Quoting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, he added: "We did not launch the Gaza operation only to end it with the same rocket firing that we had at its start."

"Imagine that a few days after we unilaterally stop the operation, a barrage of rockets hits Ashkelon," he quoted Olmert as telling the cabinet, referring to a southern Israeli town hit several times recently by rockets fired from Gaza.

Olmert chided those calling for a halt in Israel's massive bombing campaign of Hamas targets in Gaza and said the time was not yet ripe for a ceasefire.

"Do you realise the ramifications this would have in the country and the region and on Israel's deterrence?" the official quoted him as saying.

"If the conditions are ripe and we think that they might offer a solution that will guarantee a better security reality in the south then we would weigh the issue.

"We are not there yet."

AFP