51.   But the Israeli offensive continued.

52.   But, if confirmed, the report would make Abed Rabbo, the Palestinian information minister, the first senior Palestinian official detained in the weeklong Israeli military offensive.

53.   Daily skirmishes escalated last week into a major Israeli offensive meant to halt a recent wave of Hezbollah attacks on Israel.

54.   Despite growing apprehension about an Israeli offensive, the streets of Gaza City appeared normal on Thursday morning, filled with honking taxis and donkey-drawn carts.

55.   Earlier, Ahmed Qureia, speaker of the Palestinian parliament, praised Bush for urging an end to the Israeli offensive.

56.   Efforts to send a senior human rights team to assess the plight of Palestinians as a result of the Israeli offensive were blocked by Israel.

57.   For most of this week, demonstrators gathered in front of the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta to protest the Israeli offensive.

58.   Hamas leader Sheik Ahmed Yassin said the militant group had not been cowed by the Israeli offensive.

59.   He was from the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank, where militants have put up fierce resistance to the Israeli offensive.

60.   He was from the Jenin refugee camp, where militants have put up fierce resistance to the Israeli offensive.