A senior official of the Hamas-led government said on Sunday that the ongoing harsh Israeli offensives on the Gaza Strip baffled efforts to free an Israeli soldier kidnapped by militants on June 25.

"The daily Israeli military actions on the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip had badly affected the efforts to free captive soldier Gilad Shalit," Mohamed Awad, secretary general of the Hamas-led cabinet, told reporters.

According to Awad, an Egyptian delegation and representatives of several Palestinian national and Islamic factions had been engaging in secret negotiations regarding Shalit's release and some proposals had been presented.

However, "the ongoing Israeli attacks and the atmosphere it created shadowed the whole issue," said Awad, adding that the negotiators had not reported any new development yet.

Awad also condemned the detention of Aziz Dweik, speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank city of Ramallah shortly before midnight Saturday from his home, saying it was "totally against all regulations, laws and resolutions."

At least 169 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed in Israeli offensives since the capture of Shalit in a deadly cross-border raid by militants, according to press count.

Israel has rejected demands by Hamas' armed wing and other groups to exchange Shalit for Palestinian prisoners.

Israeli ground offensives around the Rafah area in southern Gaza Strip since early Thursday killed 17 Palestinians and wounded more than 30 people.

Source: Xinhua