Now turning to world news, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has declared Israel's conditions for a ceasefire with Hamas.

He said rocket attacks and the smuggling of weapons from Egypt into Gaza must end before Israel halts its offensive in the Palestinian territory.

"Let the terrorist acts stop, halt the arms smuggling from Egypt into Gaza, and the Israeli combat will stop."

Meanwhile, Israel has agreed to a 'humanitarian corridor' idea promoted by the United Nations Security Council.

According to a statement released on Wednesday, Israel temporarilly halt combat operations in specific parts of Gaza to allow people to get supplies. It said the goal was to "prevent a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip".

Government spokesman Mark Regev.

"The idea of the humanitarian corridor is to meet the needs of the people of the Gaza Strip, the civilian population. We have got a situation where the crossings have been opened and food stuffs and medicines have been entering Gaza, but because of the difficult combat situation there has been a problem with distribution. I think the idea of the corridors is to allow for a flow of both food stuffs and medicines inside the Gaza Strip so they will reach the people that we want them to reach."

Israel's troops and tanks have pushed into Gaza after a week of intensive air strikes.

According to the UN and Palestinian officials, nearly 600 Palestinians have been killed so far, around half of them civilians.