The shadowy contract, which allows for the construction of a resort on one of the country's last undisturbed Red Sea beaches, was halted but not permanently canceled.

Troops were already operating on the outskirts of Gaza City, and Hamas was now a 'battered and bruised' guerrilla force, Israel's military spokesperson said.

The monsoon has brought havoc across Pakistan in recent days with the death toll from floods that hit the mountainous northwest on Friday rising to 385.