"I want to make it clear, this morning's events were not a terrorist attack but the action of a sovereign state that attacked Israel for no reason and without provocation," he said.

"The Lebanese government, of which Hizbullah is a member, is trying to undermine regional stability," Olmert said. "Lebanon is responsible and Lebanon will bear the consequences of its actions."

The ministers were briefed on the day's events, and were presented with military options which one government source characterized as "attacking Lebanon, attacking Syria, or attacking both."

Government officials said that Olmert decided to convene the full cabinet, rather than just the security cabinet, to increase the dramatic impact and give himself the widest possible domestic political legitimacy for his actions.

Defending Israel requires both military and diplomatic action. Hizbullah and Hamas must be dealt direct, heavy blows from which they will not quickly recover. The Israeli operation early Wednesday in which chief Hamas terrorist Muhammad Deif was reportedly wounded in Gaza is an example, and it is clear that the IDF's military pressure on Hamas continues to increase.

In the North, Hizbullah's rocket arsenal, army and terrorist training camps in southern Lebanon should be destroyed to the maximum extent possible, within the constraint of Israel's desire not to reoccupy Lebanese territory over an extended period. We can also expect, given Olmert's remarks, that the IDF will strike targets of importance to the Lebanese, and perhaps the Syrian governments.

It is Israel's responsibility to defend itself by destroying the capabilities of its attackers and imposing sufficient costs at all levels of responsibility. The government must also, however, call on the international community to reinforce, rather than undermine, the deterrent effect of such actions.