Israel hints at ending ground assault soon

An Israeli artillery fires a 155mm shell towards targets in the Gaza Strip. Photo: AFP

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday said that an operation to destroy a network of tunnels used by militants in Gaza could be over "fairly quickly" but would not be pinned down on specifics. In an interview with CNN's "State of the Union" weekly talk show, Netanyahu also called for an international effort to demilitarize the enclave. His comments came as Israel said its ground operation to destroy the network of tunnels used by the militants to stage cross-border attacks was to "expand" later yesterday.