Hamas on Alert for Israeli Attacks

GAZA, Sept 12--Hamas said on Wednesday its security forces in Gaza have gone on high alert ahead of an anticipated large-scale Israeli offensive in the Palestinian territory.

Hamas said in a statement it had obtained "clear information" indicating that the "Zionist forces are preparing to launch a vast air, ground and sea offensive" in Gaza.

Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert and war minister Ehud Barak decided on the operation following the Palestinian rocket strike on a military base north of the Gaza Strip.

"Hamas calls on all its services and members to take the necessary precautions and go on the highest level of alert in order to repel the aggression," the statement read.

The Zionist regime issued a warning to Gaza resistance fighters on Tuesday after the rocket attack piling pressure on the government to hit the Hamas-run territory.

This is while Israeli authorities are apparently concerned that a military incursion into Hamas-controlled Gaza could undermine fledgling peace talks with Palestinian Authority.

In a three-hour meeting on Monday Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas pledged to set up high-level working groups to outline a final peace deal before a proposed international peace conference in November. Experts have cast doubt on the prospect of the US-sponsored conference leading to tangible results in peace talks between the two sides.