Olmert remorseful but resilient on Gaza

JERUSALEM, April 29 (UPI) -- Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert expressed remorse Tuesday for civilian deaths in Gaza but added it was an unavoidable result of militant activity.

Israeli forces responded to rocket fire Monday in Biet Hanoun with tank fire, striking a residential home and killing a family of four.

"Our sorrows are true and more real than the fake remorse of the terrorist organizations that expose their citizens to such injuries," Olmert said Tuesday at a Cabinet meeting.

Olmert noted Hamas militants in Gaza launched several rockets and mortars on villages in the western Negev desert that have seen the vast majority of attacks in the past few months, Haaretz reported.

Olmert said the activity of Hamas militants "exposes Gazan citizens to what is sometimes an unavoidable possibility that they will be injured as a result of the Israeli need to defend its public."