Israel has decided to put off any major reprisals in the Gaza Strip for the killing of two soldiers, despite sending in tanks and troops earlier.

The cabinet said any action will be delayed until a third soldier who is believed captured has been recovered, Channel 10 Television reported.

Israel earlier on Sunday sent tanks and troops into the Gaza Strip hours after a Palestinian attack against an army border post that caused both Israeli and Palestinian casualties.

The decision came at the urging of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who was determined that the life of the soldier seized from an army post hard by the Gaza border should come first, the privately owned channel said, citing a senior politician it did not name.

But ministers gave their approval in principle to a phased series of operations in the Gaza Strip later, the television added.

Responsibility

Olmert earlier said he held Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, and the Hamas government responsible, while a senior cabinet minister said Israel would "take out" Palestinians involved in attacks.

"Israel sees the Palestinian Authority, headed by Abu Mazen [Abbas] and the Palestinian government responsible for this incident," Olmert said at the weekly cabinet meeting.

Several Palestinian armed groups claimed responsibility for the attack on the post on the border between southern Gaza and Israel, including the Popular Resistance Committees and the armed wing of the ruling Hamas movement, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades.

Benjamin Ben Eliezer, the Israeli infrastructure minister, called the Palestinian attack "very serious" and said it was an "escalation" in the situation along the already volatile border.

"We need to examine all the possibilities because the terrorists infiltrated Israeli territory," he said.

Dan Halutz, the Israeli army chief, held an urgent meeting to weigh the military response and their recommendations will be presented to Olmert later in the day.

Photo Caption

Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert