Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Wednesday that Israel would not balk at "extreme action" to bring a kidnapped soldier home, the Jerusalem Post reported.

"We have one objective, to assure the release of Gilad Shalit, and to bring him home healthy and safe," Olmert was quoted as saying.

He vowed to continue military strikes in the coming days, but stressed that Israel has no intention of reoccupying the Gaza Strip and staying there, while ruling out the possibility of negotiation with "terrorists."

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni urged on Wednesday the international community to press the Palestinians to release the kidnapped soldier.

"The motives for the operation in Gaza are not hatred or punishment but an attempt to release Gilad," Livni told visiting U. S. Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales.

Israeli tanks and troops penetrated into southern Gaza Strip early Wednesday morning in a bid to hasten the release of Shalit abducted by Palestinian militants on Sunday.

Source: Xinhua