Khaled Mashaal, Hamas leader based in Damascus, is a target for assassination for ordering the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier, Israeli Justice Minister Haim Ramon said on Wednesday.

"He is definitely in our sights ... he is a target," Ramon told the Army Radio.

Mashaal was allegedly responsible for the attack on an Israeli army post near Kerem Shalom crossing on Gaza-Israeli border on Sunday in which two soldiers were killed and a third kidnapped, Ramon said.

In a meeting with U.S. Attorney General Edward Gonzales, Ramon said Mashaal was the equivalent to Osama Bin Laden and called on the international community to force Syrian President Bashar Assad to expel Mashaal from Damascus, where he has operated freely for years.

Israeli tanks and troops penetrated into the southern Gaza Strip early Wednesday morning in a bid to hasten the release of the 19-year-old Cpl. Gilad Shalit.

According to Palestinian source, Mashaal opposed the unconditional release of Israeli soldier and believed that Hamas should demand release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails in exchange for him.

Source: Xinhua