Israeli troops were set to enter the northern Gaza Strip in coming hours, Defense Minister Amir Peretz announced on Wednesday evening.

Peretz gave a green light to the start of the second phase of an ongoing massive ground operation in Gaza, which was launched on early Wednesday with Israeli troops entering the southern Gaza Strip.

Israel says that the operation, dubbed "Summer Rain", is aimed to rescue an Israeli soldier kidnapped by Palestinian militants during a cross-border raid on an Israeli army border post on Sunday.

Source: Xinhua