Palestinian militants threaten to kill Israeli hostage if offensive on Gaza continues

Three Palestinian military groups, taking an Israeli soldier hostage in Gaza, on Sunday threatened to kill the hostage if Israel does not stop a large-scale operation in the northern Gaza Strip.

"We would tell the state of occupation that if it continues with its crimes against our people in Beit Hanoun and the entire Gaza Strip, the life of the captive soldier would be in danger," a masked spokesmen for the captors read the warning in a news conference held in Gaza on Sunday afternoon.

Israeli Corporal Gilad Shalit was kidnapped by three militant groups on June 25 during a cross-border attack against an Israeli army post in the southeastern Gaza Strip, sparking a comprehensive offensive against the strip three days later.

Ezzeldine al-Qassam Brigades, a military wing of the Palestinian ruling Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), the Popular Resistance Committees and the Army of Islam had jointly claimed responsibility for the attack and the kidnapping of the soldiers.

Israeli army has intensified its ground and air offensive on the Gaza Strip by launching an operation code-named "Autumn Clouds" since Nov. 1, killing 48 Palestinians and wounding more than 200 others so far.

Israeli military said the aim of the offensive is to prevent Palestinian militants from launching homemade rockets from the Gaza Strip at Israel.

Source: Xinhua