MIDDLE EAST: Israel launched a broad ground offensive in Gaza yesterday, with thousands of troops and armoured vehicles pouring into the coastal strip under cover of fighter planes, in an operation officials said was meant to pressure Palestinians into releasing a kidnapped Israeli soldier being held captive by militants.
Meanwhile, for the first time since Cpl Gilad Shalit (19) was snatched in a raid by militants at an Israeli army post last Sunday, the Hamas-led government called on Israel to free Palestinian security prisoners in its jails in exchange for the soldier's release.
It also emerged last night that Israeli warplanes made a warning flight over the palace of Syrian president Bashar Assad early yesterday morning, in what Israeli officials said was a message to the Syrian leader, who hosts a top Hamas leader in Damascus.
The Israeli assault began shortly after midnight on Tuesday, when planes fired missiles at the main power station in Gaza, leaving hundreds of thousands of residents without power in the southern part of the coastal strip. Missiles were also fired at several bridges in southern Gaza, rendering them impassable. An army spokesman said the bridges had been destroyed to prevent militants from moving the kidnapped soldier, whom Israel believes is being held somewhere in the southern part of the strip.
Troops then poured into Gaza, taking up positions two kilometres inside the strip, around the southern town of Rafah. They also took over the airport, in the first major ground offensive by Israel in Gaza since it withdrew in September last year. There were no injuries in the raid.
Toward evening, Israeli defence minister Amir Peretz gave the army the green light to begin operating in northern Gaza, with the aim of stopping militants from firing makeshift rockets into Israel. The army was set to distribute leaflets last night in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanun, telling residents that if the rocket fire continued, Israel would respond by firing into populated areas. Residents were to be told that if they did not want to be harmed, they should leave their homes.
Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert warned yesterday that Israel "won't hesitate to carry out extreme action to bring Gilad back to his family. All the military activity that started overnight will continue in the coming days." But he added that Israel did "not intend to reoccupy Gaza". He repeated his refusal to negotiate with militant groups, which have demanded the release of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the soldier.
Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas condemned the Israeli invasion, calling it "collective punishment and a crime against humanity". Many of the 1.2 million Gaza residents, anticipating a long standoff and no electricity, began stockpiling food, water, batteries and candles.
In the first few days of the standoff, Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniyeh had worked to end the crisis speedily, with his aides calling on militants not to harm the soldier.
But yesterday Hamas government representatives changed their tune, calling for a prisoner swap. In a statement, the government said it was "only logical" that an exchange take place. "Previous Israeli governments," the statement read, "have done so."
Earlier yesterday, members of the Popular Resistance Committees - a small militant group that carried out Sunday's attack - displayed the identification card of Eliyahu Asheri, an 18-year-old resident of the West Bank settlement of Itamar who has been missing since Sunday. The group said it had abducted the teenager and that he would be "butchered in front of TV cameras" if Israel did not cease its Gaza operation.
Israeli officials, meanwhile, said the low-altitude flyover of Bashar Assad's palace was a signal to the Syrian president that Israel objects to his allowing Khaled Meshal, the leading Hamas figure outside of the territories, to operate freely in Damascus. Israel believes Meshal gave the green light for the raid in which the soldier was kidnapped.