Roundup: Israel escalates military actions against Hamas

Since the abduction of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit by Palestinian militant groups a week ago, Israel has been determined to target leaders of Palestinian ruling Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).

Israeli Corporal Shalit was seized last Sunday in a Hamas military wing-led raid on an Israeli army post near the Gaza- Israel border, which also left two Israeli soldiers and two assailant Palestinians dead.

In the wake of the deadly attack, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert last Monday ordered army commanders to prepare for a prolonged and extensive military operation into the Gaza Strip.

On Wednesday predawn, Israel launched a large-scale military operation called "Summer Rains" in bid to secure the safe return of the captured soldier, the largest incursion since Israel pulled out forces and settlers from the strip last summer after a 38-year- long presence there.

The Israeli army believed that the missing soldier was still alive, vowing to spare no effort to secure his safe return.

The Israeli operation has been going on, amid Israeli threats to escalate it with large ground operation into northern and southern Gaza Strip.

In the past few days, the main power plant, major bridges, some militants' posts as well as Prime Minister Ismail Haneya and Interior Minister Said Siam's offices in Gaza have been targeted and destroyed.

Israeli airstrikes on Haneya and Siam's offices as well as arrests of senior Hamas' leaders in the West Bank went in parallel with diplomatic efforts to end the crisis.

Egypt has been leading heavy and intensive mediation to end the crisis, where earlier reports said that Egypt has presented a release of the abducted Shalit for a guarantee that Israel would release Palestinian prisoners later.

However, Hamas leaders asserted that the Egyptian proposal was not accepted by the militants who still hold Shalit and insist for the immediate release of some 1,400 prisoners, including younger and female prisoners, as well as those spending life sentences, sick prisoners and other nationalities imprisoned in Israeli jails.

Israeli Premier Ehud Olmert has also rejected the kidnappers' demands, warning that the military operation would be escalated against senior Hamas leaders if they don't free the soldier.

On Sunday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has termed the earlier predawn Israeli airstrike against Haneya's office as a criminal act.

"This destruction against the Palestinian people's institutions, including the targeting of the power plant and the Prime Minister's office were true criminal acts," Abbas told reporters.

"The world has to understand that this is a true criminal act," repeated Abbas. He is stuck in Gaza to oversee diplomatic efforts that aim to release the Israeli soldier.

Right after his office was bombarded, Haneya, who rarely shows up in Gaza following the Israeli threats to target him, visited his destroyed office before he held a meeting with President Abbas.

Haneya told reporters that he condemned the Israeli airstrikes on his office and the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, where he termed the airstrike as revelry, barbaric and rowdy.

"The international community and the Arab league should carry their responsibility towards these ugly and awful attacks that lacks mind and logic," said Haneya.

He added that such repressive Israeli actions would never force the Palestinian people to change their firm attitudes.

Well-informed diplomatic sources in Gaza had earlier revealed that, in an effort to resolve the crisis, Egypt had given Hamas leadership a 24-hour ultimatum in order to accept its proposal on freeing the abducted Israeli soldier.

Egypt warned that "if Hamas doesn't positively respond to the Egyptian initiative, then Egypt would announce that it would pull out from mediation to end the crisis."

However, both Israel and Hamas government are not showing any possibility to make concessions on the abducted soldiers' crisis, and to avoid the Palestinian civilians a possible disaster.

Ahmed Bahar, deputy to Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) speaker and a senior Hamas leader, noted that "we believe that responding to the kidnappers' demands is not easy for Israel."

The Palestinians, too, would not easily make concessions and release the Israeli soldier, even if all the Palestinian people would be eliminated by the occupation, he added.

Source: Xinhua